Hold On
by YANIsweetness7
Summary: A Saleswoman joins the Scranton branch and begins to cozy up to the newly single office heartthrob. Taboo? I know. Jim/OC
1. Falling into the wrong hands

Disclaimer: I do not own the office. NBC does.

**I decided to make this story because there aren't very many Jim/OCs on this site because I'm guessing that people are delusionally in love with the thought of PB&J. I'm just going to tell you now that my alternate universe doesn't agree with the idea of them together. If something is in **_**italics**_** and centered that means that it's a "talking head" segment, just like in the show. FYI, Pam is still in NY and this takes place after right after the Michael Scott Paper Company gets bought out. **

Jim_  
"Things were back to normal in Scranton. Pam and I didn't really work out, but the odd thing about it was that I didn't really mind. We're back to being friends and I'm fine with that. Today at the office, we're getting a new salesman who I will hopefully get along with because they will be sitting next to me and across from Dwight."_

"Alright everyone. The addition to our family will be arriving very soon. One of the top salesmen from New York." Dwight raised his hand to ask one of his stupid questions.

"Question. If he was top in New York, why did he get sent to Scranton?" Michael looked at the camera before answering.

"David Wallace thinks it would be good for us to get a boost." And with that Michael went back to his office and we all got back to work with the exception of Kevin. He was getting candy from reception.

In the corner of my eye, I saw someone enter the office and being as unfocused as I am, I turned to look. It was a woman, a tall and very attractive woman. She held her hand out for Erin to shake.

"Hi, I'm Danielle Costas." Michael made his way over to her, about to introduce himself, but Kevin spoke first.

"Michael said you were a man." She raised her eyebrows at Kevin, not really knowing what to say.

"Corporate must've misspelled your name." Michael stated trying to cover up his mistake. He held out his hand for her to shake.

"I'm Michael Scott. Regional Manager of the lovely Dunder Mifflin Scranton. " After shaking his hand she looked at him expectantly, probably waiting for him to introduce her or at least lead her to her desk.

"Sooooo, Costas. Isn't that a Greek last name?" She nodded.

"My grandfather's from Greece." Michael seemed astonished and I knew then that he was about to say something stupid.

"There are black people in Greece?" Her well groomed brows furrowed at his ignorance.

"There are black people everywhere, including Greece, but my grandfather is not one of them. He moved to Harlem and married my black grandmother and together they had my father and due to the lack of cultural diversity in Harlem, he ended up marrying my black mother." It was obvious that Michael was fascinated with her family tree.

"Wow, so now that it's legal, do you see yourself following in your grandmother's footsteps?" She looked down at the floor with an annoyed expression. He was obviously prying too far into her personal life within the first two minutes of meeting her.

"Oh, I don't know." And that was the story of the 4th woman who held my interest to be harassed by Michael upon their arrival.

Danielle

"_Do I like it here? I don't know. It's my first day, I have no time to stop and smell the roses."_

Jim

"_It's been six months since Pam broke up with me. She wanted to stay in New York…permanently and she didn't see how that could happen if she still had a boyfriend in Scranton. So, here I am, single, living in the house I grew up in with a $5,000 representation of what could've been." I held up the wedding ring I planned to propose to Pam with. "I just never got the opportune moment."_

I had been looking at Danielle frequently for the past three hours and I've learned that she's very driven. She's been handling Ryan's clients from the Michael Scott Paper Company, seeing as he got demoted back to being a temp after the merger. Everyone got their old clients back, but she has all the new ones Ryan acquired.

She has a very fashionable sense of style, something Kelly will go berserk over once she sees it. Her hair was in a ponytail and it was very curly and a rich dark chocolaty color. Her eyes were surrounded by a thin line of eyeliner, her lids shimmered with eyeshadow and her lashes coated with mascara. Her lips were sheen, but didn't appear to have any artificial color on their vast surface. Her nose was adorned with a tiny sparkly stud that I found rather interesting for a woman with an office job.

When she finally spoke to me, I was caught off guard.

"Hey, what time does lunch start around here?" I looked at the clock that read 12:47, lunch didn't start for another 13 minutes.

"Uh, about now actually." She grinned, bringing her green eyes to their full potential.

"Good, 'cause I'm starving." After getting up and heating her food in the microwave we sat in the break room to eat our lunches. Me with my usual ham sandwich and her with a mouth watering baked potato with the works.

"Why isn't anyone else coming to eat?" Knowing I was caught, I confessed.

"Lunch here in Scranton doesn't start until one. I guess I just wanted to get a head start before everyone else got here." She smirked before putting down her fork and extending her hand to me.

"I'm Danielle." I took her hand giving it a few pumps before letting go.

"I'm Jim." She took a sip of her Green Tea before throwing a question my way.

"Is Michael always so strange?" I smiled.

"If you're referring to him hitting on you, then yes. Don't worry, it'll only get worse." She paled at that information as much as a woman with a complexion matching my paper bag could.

"Let me warn you though. He's very immature. So just go along with what he says, but whatever you do, don't encourage him."

"Thanks for the advice." The predatory Jim inside me wanted to flirt with Danielle, but the sensible Jim wanted to know if she was dating before taking that step.

"As for him hitting on you, that won't stop, even if he's aware that you're spoken for." She turned her body to me a bit more.

"What if you're not spoken for? Is it worse?" I shook my head no.

"Significantly." She laughed at my physical betrayal.

"Well then, I need to get a boyfriend soon." My ego reared its ugly head for the first time since Pam. She was flirting back.

In moments, the rest of the office joined us and they filled up the seats faster than ever before. Erin, Andy, Kelly and Ryan all made room at our table, postponing my ego trip.

Danielle

The pretty Indian girl introduced herself first.

"I'm Kelly." Then the receptionist whose name I would've known by now if Michael hadn't interrupted me earlier.

"I'm Erin." Next was the really preppy guy that I doubted I would get along with. I mean I dress like this for work, but I'm sure he dresses like that everywhere else too. I wonder if he owned a pair of jeans or even a t shirt.

"I am Andy Bernard." And finally the guy in the fedora who was giving me a pretty feisty stink eye.

"I'm Ryan." He glared harder before continuing. "The temp." He said that last part in resentment. I ignored his attitude and introduced myself.

"I'm Daniell-"

"You took my job." My mouth was parted in surprise at Ryan's outburst. I looked among their faces to see if my reaction was appropriate or if he was just joking. Furrowed eyebrows were all sported by Jim, Erin and Andy. Kelly looked apologetic, so she tried to cover his tracks.

"Now he works in the Annex with me." Her friends were sure to follow, Erin first.

"Well, I'm the receptionist obviously." Then Andy.

"I work in Sales with you and the Tuna." I raised an eyebrow at that nickname and sent a smirk in Jim's direction before returning my gaze at Andy so he could finish his introduction.

"And let me tell you, Tuna and I are the friendliest in Sales, so if you need any help, we're your go-to-guys." I nodded in thanks before finishing up my Green Tea.

"Oh my god, I love your vest, where do you shop?" I smiled at Kelly's genuine interest.

"For work, I shop at H&M, Banana Republic and Burlington Coat Factory in New York, oh, and Macy's too." Her eyes seemed to bulge at the news.

"Oh my god! Do you wanna go shopping this week?" I hesitated before answering.

"Oh, I can't. I'm a really slow unpacker, so I don't know when I'll ever be done." She seemed to take the rejection with a grain of salt.

"Oh, ok. Just hit me up whenever you're done." I nodded my head in promise.

* * *

Back at our desks Jim had a taunting look in his eyes.

"What?" He held back a smile.

"You're a horrible liar." I gave him a curious look, urging him to continue.

"Slow Packer?" I scoffed at him.

"That was mostly true." He rested his chin on his fist, patiently waiting for me to explain. "I only unpack the essentials, the rest comes out whenever I step out of my critical lazy spell and for all she knows, that could take months. Plus, I just moved. I don't have as much money as I used to. Not to mention, I've got a feeling her shrill voice uses the term 'Oh my god!' a little too much for my liking." We both laughed at my reasoning knowing it was true.

"HA HA HA! Oh yes! Make fun of your co-workers your first day on the job." The guy across from me glared at Jim before turning to me.

"You're falling into the wrong hands." It was official. Glasses guy creeped me out.

"Who are you?" He held his hand out for me to shake.

"Dwight K. Shrute. Assistant Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin Scranton." Jim butted in as our hands parted.

"Assistant TO THE Regional Manager." I smiled. The addition to those two small words does make the status less significant.

"I'm Danielle…" And for the second time today I was interrupted while introducing myself.

"Costas. Born June 26th, 1985 in Harlem, New York to Linda and Demetri Costas. You are the fifth out of five children. You went to business school in Chicago and graduated at the top of your class despite your hatred for Capitalism. And I quote 'The world is full of bigots and greedy people. If one does not wish to compete, they will surely be doomed. The serfs are merely slaves to the bourgeoisie and the status quo'…"

"Has no room for freedom.' A quote from my thesis. Very creepy Dwight." He looked indifferent at invading my privacy.

"Oh don't be so surprised. No one sits two feet across from me without getting a background check."

"Everyone listen up! We will be celebrating the arrival of our newest member on Friday so that the rest of you losers can get to know her better. I know I've been hogging her." Jim and I exchanged a confused look.

* * *

At the end of the day, Jim was nice enough to walk me to my car.

"Sorry about Dwight. Lucky for you, I will always be there to monitor your conversations." I smiled up at him.

"Thank you. He makes me ashamed to wear glasses." He gave a small laugh at that. I unlocked my door and readied myself to get in.

"Good Night Danielle."

"See you tomorrow Jim." I drove off cursing myself for getting a crush on my first day.


	2. Seatbelt Nazi

Disclaimer: I only own Danielle

**StrawberryPajamas: As my only reviewer, I thank you so very much for taking your time to review. It was very sweet of you because the other 89 assholes reading my story refuse to do so. I am kind of a pioneer aren't I? I don't know what's holding everyone back though. I'm surprised that I haven't received any flames for this story yet. Probably because people don't think this story's going anywhere, but little do they know, it is. Thanks for being such an enthusiastic reviewer, this one's for you.**

**So, who else is excited for the new season coming on in a couple of weeks?**

Danielle

I woke up in my sheetless bed, all sticky from the humidity. It had to be every bit of 80° outside. After opening all of my windows, I turned on the news to see what I thought to be true. Scranton was experiencing a massive heat wave that would progressively get worse throughout the day. I chose to wear a flowy tunic with a short dress skirt and my hair up in a high bun, still wet from my very very cold shower. I put on minimal makeup, knowing I would just sweat it all off today.

At work, everyone was miserable, constantly wiping off their brows, fanning their selves with manila folders and taking several water breaks. The humidity was even causing Jim's hair to be even more disheveled, which I didn't think was possible.

"Everyone, I am sure that we are all suffering from the heat, but there is nothing we can do about it because corporate has reduced our budget and we can no longer afford to pay for air conditioning." Phyllis was the first to put in her two cents to Michael's announcement.

"The annex is air conditioned." Michael made a face at the news.

"No, Phyllis! I am not going back there. No, " He clapped his hands together in revelation. "I am going to go down to the warehouse to take all of their fans, and Danielle is coming with me." My face expressed my surprise as I rose from my desk. Jim looked sympathetic, similar to his face yesterday as Michael hit on me.

* * *

I let Michael lead the way, for I had no idea where I was going.

"So, why must I accompany you?" I wanted to work, not sweat even more by carrying fans into the office.

"To kill two birds with one stone. Those two birds being A) You will be introduced to the warehouse guys. And B) You are the hottest girl the office has ever seen, so there is no way they will deny us the fans." I easily deflected his compliment.

"Can't you just use your authority to get the fans?" He didn't answer me, so I pressed on. "Michael, I was transferred here to boost sales and I don't see how I'm doing that by being down here in…" I immediately shut up as I basked in the cold refreshing air of the warehouse.

I turned to Michael and smiled. "I know, it's like a winter wonderland, but instead of elves, we have mediocre warehouse guys."

We made our way down the stairs and next to a guy standing near the forklift. He seemed very stoic and even more so as he saw Michael glance at the large machine. He didn't look intimidated, just impatient and stoic. If anything, Michael was the one who looked scared, but maybe I was just reading his body language wrong.

"Danielle, this is Papa elf of the warehouse guys." The guy ignored Michael's stupid introduction and decided to make his own.

"Darryl." I waved to him and smiled. He seemed normal.

"Darryl, this is Danielle. Our newest addition to Sales." Darryl looked very impatient and crossed his arms while looking down at Michael. It must be frightening for him due to his inferior height.

"Michael, what do you need?" With the way he glanced around and moved his hands, there was no doubt that Michael held an ember of fear for Darryl. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing at my discovery. His hesitance in answering just confirmed my beliefs.

"It's cold down here and about 90° upstairs and we were wondering if we could borrow your fans." Darryl stared Michael down Godfather style before speaking.

"Yeah, you can have our fans." I looked between the two of them, wanting to know what they thought about each other because it would explain this very very awkward moment.

Michael shifted around uncomfortably before going off to look for a fan. I smiled at Darryl before going off to do the same.

I found one of those circular floor fans that only weigh about ten pounds and I was on my way to the stairs when Darryl stopped me.

"Let me get that for you." I raised an eyebrow at his chivalry, but put aside my feminism to let him carry the fan.

He grabbed another floor fan on his way out. I turned around to look for another one to see Michael trying to get away with carrying a skinny rotating fan and nothing else. He almost made it to the stairs when a warehouse guy rocking a 50's haircut snatched the tiny fan from him and placed a large bulky square one in his arms. I held back laughter as he struggled up the stairs with it.

The warehouse guy waved me over and once I got there, he handed me the skinny rotating fan. "Thanks."

I let him go in front of me with two floor fans of his own, not wanting anyone behind me because of my short skirt.

* * *

I held open the door to the office for the guys and Darryl asked "Where do you want us to put these?" I saw Michael taking his fan into his office, leaving me to decide, but Dwight interrupted.

"One by Andy, Stanley and Phyllis. One by me, Jim and Danielle. Another by, Creed and Meredith and another by accounting." The warehouse guys looked to me for approval, not really trusting what Dwight was saying. I nodded and they went to plug them in. I decided to put the rotating fan by reception.

"Oh no, that's too kind of you." I looked up from the outlet at Erin and stood up to adjust the fan so it would hit her and whoever decided to visit her.

"It's no problem, we'll all be fine." Her eyes softened, allowing a real smile to reach them before I made my way back to my desk.

Darryl and the other guy waved to me before leaving. "Thanks guys, it was nice meeting you."

I turned to Jim giving me an amused look. I brushed it off before asking him a question.

"Hey, do you want to eat lunch in the warehouse with me? It's freezing down there and I honestly don't think Michael will mind." He shook his head.

"You know, with all the fans, I think it'll be bearable to eat lunch right here." Dwight's voice prevented me from replying.

"Bearable yes, but our body temperatures are effecting how cold the office potentially could be. If we left our posts for at least a half hour, the room would be significantly cooler by about 8°." Michael, who was standing outside of his office, obviously heard our conversation.

"Fantastic Dwight!" The compliment caused Dwight to shoot Jim a serial killeresque grin. Michael shook Dwight's shoulders before speaking to the entire office.

"Everyone, Dwight came up with a wonderful idea. Today, we will be having lunch in the warehouse because it's freezing down there and us leaving would make the office colder upon our return." Everyone seemed to agree with Michael's decision.

Jim

I held the office door open for Danielle as we left and when she passed me, I noticed that she smelled an awful lot like a Piña Colada.

Down at the warehouse, we all gathered around in a corner with chairs and took out our lunches. Danielle had a really old looking batman lunch box that I was dying to ask her about and to know what's in it. Creed turned his head to us at the click of her opening her lunch box and pointed at it.

"My son had that exact same lunch box back in '62." He turned back around leaving Danielle and me opened mouthed at his statement.

She leaned forward and whispered to me with a concerned look on her face. "How old is he?" I shook my head.

"We don't know." I whispered back, causing her to laugh.

She went back to starting her lunch which was two to-go bowls of honey nut cheerios and a pint of milk. I dug into my ham sandwich as she started to pour the milk into one of the bowls.

"You were right. It feels fantastic down here." I marveled at how she even brought her own spoon.

"I know right? When I came down here earlier with Michael, he was pretty skittish around Darryl. What's up with that?" I was going to answer her when Stanley decided to join our conversation, pulling his chair up to form a triangle with our chairs. Danielle's face looked cutely expectant as she dug into her cheerios.

"Michael is an unintentional racist." Her brows furrowed, but her eyes revealed that she was entertained.

"What?" She turned to me for conformation and I nodded, then turned to Stanley so he could continue with his slow drawl.

"It's true. He asked me about female advice, then asked me if I learned it on the streets." She laughed, causing Angela to send a glare her way.

Angela

"_I liked Pam better. She dressed more conservatively and laughed quietly to herself. I hope she gets fired soon. Why? Because she dresses more outlandishly than Kelly and a woman like that would have more sinful things to do than celebrate Christmas." The man behind the camera decided to ask me a question. "Are you sure that you just don't feel intimidated that another younger and beautiful woman is sitting ten feet from you?" I gasped at his accusation. "Excuse me?"_

Jim

"No way!" She laughed again and I figured that it was my turn to give her the scoop on Michael.

"One time Michael was trying to get Toby, the HR rep fired, so he wanted to set him up with some drugs. So, the first place he went was to the warehouse. The guys sold him some basil for a couple hundred dollars or so. He had no idea he was being scammed." She giggled between bites of her cereal.

I was going to tell her about Michael accidentally sending pictures of inappropriate pictures of him and Jan around until Stanley interrupted.

"If you think that's funny, you should see the tapes of the past five years." Her eyes bulged at the possibility behind their expensive frames. I had to kill all hopes of that idea immediately.

"No way." I guess I said it too abruptly and defensibly because the two of them were looking at me for an explanation, so I elaborated off the top of my head. "Then she'll know what to exactly to expect from us. That wouldn't be fair to Andy and Erin." She nudged my knee with her foot.

"Thanks for allowing me to get involved with these crazy people blindly." I gave her a fake smile, hoping she wouldn't notice.

"No problem"

Danielle

We made our way up to the office and my eagerness to work here increased tenfold knowing that my boss was a complete dunce.

I sighed in relief at the temperature of the office. It wasn't as cold as the warehouse, but it was cool enough. Jim was about to sit down at his desk, but I tugged on his elbow, telling him to follow me. He looked confused, but obliged. I led him into the break room and I immediately regretted it. There was absolutely no ventilation or fan. Jim lingered by the doorway while I stepped completely inside.

"Woah, it has to be at least 100° in here." I laughed despite my sudden dizzy spell. I fanned myself, determined to do what I came here for.

"And you wanted to eat in here today. Don't you want to come in and get a soda?" He shook his head and gave me a crazy look. I held my head for a bit before exclaiming

"Fuck, it is so hot in here!" That was the last thing I remembered before blacking out.

Jim

I looked at her expectantly, concocting a witty response in my head, that is until I saw her fall to the floor. So I did the first thing that came to mind.

"Michael!" In hindsight, I realize that by calling him back here probably prolonged getting Danielle to the hospital by at least five minutes.

Toby, Kelly and Ryan were the first ones to make it over to us, but Michael ran in seconds later.

"What happened?" Dwight came in right after Michael and after that, everyone was peeking their heads in.

"She was complaining about how hot it was in here until she fainted." Michael frowned before taking off his suit jacket.

"Holy crap, it is hot in here." He sighed before thinking of a solution. "Dwight, drive them to the hospital." Everyone cleared out, allowing Dwight to crouch down across from me and pick her up bridal style. As I followed him out, Phyllis handed me an ice pack for Danielle. I nodded in thanks before rushing to join Dwight in the elevator.

* * *

I sat in the backseat of Dwight's car with Danielle's head in my lap and an icepack on her forehead. I had taken her glasses off and I was surprised at how different she looked. Her face was flushed, her full lips were parted and her hair was disheveled. I ignored the guilt and tried to focus at the problem at hand.

"Dwight, could you at least turn on the AC?" He glared at me through the rearview mirror.

"I don't see why. She's already unconscious." Right now, I didn't have any patience for his bullshit.

"Dwight!" He turned on the AC immediately.

"Alright, Alright. No need to yell."

Dwight carried her into the hospital after parking the car.

"She fainted, where do I put her?" I shook my head at Dwight's bluntness.

One nurse led Dwight to what I assume was a room to put Danielle in. Another nurse led me to a waiting room and soon enough, Dwight joined me.

"You know she is very heavy." He rubbed his arms as he said that.

"You shouldn't expect every girl to be as skinny as Angela." He glared at my retort and I avoided his gaze to prevent myself from laughing.

Dwight

"_Jim likes Danielle. How can I tell? His eyes are always on her rear. He angles himself toward her even when they aren't conversing and most of all, he defended her weight. Those are all traits of a male in heat. By the way, I do not dislike Danielle's weight/height ratio. She resembles a perfect pear shape. If only she were blonde."_

Jim

"Give me your keys." I rolled my eyes at his behavior. I just, wasn't in the mood.

"Give me your keys Jim." Once again, I chose not to respond to his absurdity.

"I am asking you so that Michael and I can drop your car off later. Duh." I instantly fished through my pockets to give him my keys.

Danielle

I woke up to the clean scent of the hospital which was most likely where I was. I was shocked to see Jim in the chair next to me; then again I wasn't because he was the last person I saw before I fainted.

"You know, the last time I was here, Michael was being a baby over his burnt foot and I was spraying Dwight with water to stop him from succumbing to his concussion." I laughed at the thought of all of that happening and he laughed with me.

"How did Michael burn his foot?" I sat up a little more, so that I was comfortable.

"He liked to wake up to the smell of bacon, so he would wake up and put bacon on a George Foreman grill by the foot of his bed and then would return to sleep." I giggled and shielded my eyes with my forearm.

"You didn't have to stay here with me. My mom's my emergency contact. She would've driven down here." He seemed unaffected by my statement.

"It's no problem." I looked at the clock to see it was 6:47.

"I'm sure you have a life to tend to." He pursed his lips, feigning an expression of deep thought.

"No, I don't." I reached out and grabbed his hand, both of our smiles fading as we got over his semi-joke. The atmosphere of the room changed and we both tensed up, not knowing what to do in this situation.

"Thank you Jim, you didn't have to." I let go of his hand, fully expecting another 'no problem', but instead I got a more genuine "You're welcome." I was relieved that the tension dissolved with the comfort his smile brought.

* * *

My heart thudded as I sat in the passenger's seat of Jim's car. He handed me my glasses and I slid them on, feeling a little more comfortable behind them.

"You ready?" I quickly nodded, tapping my hands on my thighs, not wanting to make eye contact with Jim.

"Are you going to strap yourself in or do I have to do it for you?" I hastily buckled my seat belt, embarrassed at the thought of the proximity of our bodies if he had done it for me.

He had really strong AC in his car and for that I was grateful because the night was still humid.

"I'm not usually a seatbelt Nazi, but you did just get out of the hospital." I sighed.

"I wish I wouldn't have. Now Michael's gonna make a big deal out of it." I finally forced myself to look at Jim as he turned the corner.

"Look at you, getting the hang of things." I giggled and nodded my head to a Paramore song on the radio.

"You hungry?" He asked me before bringing his eyes back to the road.

"Oh. No thank you. I've got food at home." He didn't push it and I was grateful because I really didn't feel comfortable with men spending money on me.

"Speaking of home…where exactly do you live?" I felt incompetent for not letting him know sooner.

"It's 5824 East Plaven Ave at the Eastern Scranton apartment complex."

I found myself wanting to spend more time with Jim as he pulled up to my apartment complex.

"Is this it?" I nodded, unbuckling my seatbelt and placing a hand on the door handle.

"Jim Halpert, you're my hero." He laughed at my Ferris Bueller reference.

"You're delusional. Go get some sleep Danielle." I lightly swatted his arm for making fun of me.

"Good night Jim."

"Bye Danielle."

**This is the chance for the rest of my readers to review. I made this one extra long. Way longer than any other chapters in any of my other stories. So since I made the extra effort for you, could you please return the favor? I'd greatly appreciate it.**


	3. Ticking Time Bombs of Sexual Tension

Disclaimer: I don't own the office, but Dwight owns the building and I do not own any of the songs featured in this chapter.

**Jen: I wish there were more reviewers like you.**

**StrawberryPajamas: Thank you so very much for being such a good reviewer. I love you a lot. I'm really only updating for you at this point. You're welcome for the shout out and you'll continue to get more as long as you review. I'm glad you find it interesting and don't worry, that will be incorporated to the storyline, but I can't tell you when.**

**As for the rest of you, I'm kind of pissed. I don't expect a lot, just more appreciation for my work. It's not hard to review and as much as I love updating, I'll stop if no one cares to put in their two cents. The chapters are long, the updates are frequent, the writing is good if I must say so myself, the plot is one of a kind and keep in mind, I do have other things to tend to. **

**Sorry for the thousands of page dividers and POV switches in this chapter, but it's really fast paced, so it needed to be done.**

Danielle

First thing in the morning, I checked my voicemails a few from my mother and one from David Wallace. He was pretty much telling me that I could take the day off, not counting as a sick day or a vacation day. Hearing that news, I set my alarm clock for 11:00 before going back to sleep.

I walked into the office to surprised faces as I held two dozen donuts and a box of donut holes.

"Hello Everyone, I brought donuts." It was 76° today and everyone looked much happier instead of miserable. Then again, that could just be their reaction to the donuts.

I walked into the kitchen to put down my treats and of course, I was followed by Michael.

"What are you doing here? I made corporate give you the day off." That was very sweet of him.

"I know Michael, but I'm fine and I really appreciate what you did-"

"If you really meant that, then you wouldn't have shown your face here today." He sounded a tad resentful that I went against his decision, but I don't think he realizes that there is nothing he can do about it.

"Are you really upset that I decided to work today?" I usually wasn't so forward to my superiors, but Michael was different.

"No" he hesitated "I'm just surprised that you would pass up a day off. It's not often that corporate actually listens to me and I had to fight them tooth and nail about giving you a free vacation day." It seemed that he was exaggerating because I knew that corporate would've given me the day off under the circumstances without Michael's input, but I went along with it.

"Well, I'm flattered that you would go out of your way to do that for me even though I'm new here, but I want to work Michael. I just want to work." He looked confused, but accepting.

"Ok. Then, get to work." He grabbed a donut before going back to his office, only then did I sigh in relief.

* * *

At my desk, I munched on a chocolate covered donut with sprinkles and avoided Jim on purpose. I could tell that he was looking at me as I did my work. I could tell that he was amused too by the look on his face.

"You're gonna have me ask, aren't you?" I fought a smile from forming on my lips and continued to type without answering him.

"How come you didn't take the day off Costas?" I smiled at Jim for calling me Costas.

"I couldn't miss the day of my party." I still didn't look at him, but I could see him smiling from the corner of my eye.

Jim

"_Danielle is revolutionary. Never has someone had such an impact on me within the short course of three days. Day one: She existed. Day two: She fainted. Day three…she cared. No one in this office would have given up a free vacation day just to spend time with people they barely know. She's special, and I am making it my goal from here on out to get to know her better."_

Today, her hair was in a braid that rested on her left shoulder, leaving the right side of her collarbone exposed. There was a scar there, but it didn't make it any less attractive. I tried not to stare at her for too long, but it was hard, especially after yesterday's events. She was just so pretty and girls of her physical equivalent don't exist in Scranton, so I tried to commit her image to memory, knowing that I wouldn't see anyone like her unless I vacationed to Brazil.

Danielle

I noticed Erin didn't eat any donuts, so I got her one before they were all gone.

"Thanks. Ooh. Jelly filled, my favorite." I smiled as she bit into it.

"You're welcome. I'm really good at reading people." Erin seemed amazed and leaned forward over her desk a little bit, donut still in hand.

"Really?" I nodded and rested my elbows over the countertop.

"I'm so good, that I know that you have a thing for Andy." She looked a little frightened that I knew that.

"Wow. You are good. Andy and I used to date, but it was a short lived relationship." I gazed into her bug eyes with my almond ones.

"You're not over him." She didn't do anything, but give me a nervous smile. I knew I was prying into her personal life, but I wanted to help.

"Don't worry, my lips are sealed, but I will get you two back together."

* * *

Back at my desk, Michael walked over to give another announcement. Apparently, he did this often.

"Good news everybody, corporate decided to stop being penny pinchers, and now…we can afford air conditioning. They were so pleased that Danielle didn't press any charges, so they didn't want to take any chances with the rest of you." He went to the thermostat and turned it on with anticipation like he was lighting the Olympic torch. I smiled at Jim as we felt the cool breeze above us.

At the end of the day as everyone was on their way to Poor Richards, Jim stopped me in my tracks as I was slinging my messenger bag over my shoulder.

"Not so fast." I raised my eyebrows in question. "There's something that's been bothering me all day that I have to ask you." He seemed so giddy to ask me, my cheeks reddened at the possibility of him already asking me out on a date.

"How in the world did you get here?" Of course he would ask me about my car still being in the parking lot. I was shocked, then a little crestfallen, but I tried not to let it show.

"Well, there's a Krispy Kreme not too far away from my apartment building, so I walked there and got some donuts before calling a cab. The guy said that if I went back in to buy him a box of donut holes, I'd get a free ride."

He leered at me trying to figure out if I was serious or not. I smiled and tugged on his elbow.

"Come on Halpert, I can't be late for my own party." I smiled at the fact that I copied him by calling him by his last name, then side stepped him, continuing my way to the parking lot.

* * *

In his car once again, we drove to Poor Richards with the mellow, yet upbeat sounds of 'Turn Off The Light' by Nelly Furtado.

"If it's high play it low, if it's harvest go slow and if it's full, then go. But after midnight morning will come and the day will see if you're gonna get some." I sang along with the catchy tune, only to have Jim cast me wary glances from the driver's seat.

"What? You don't like Canadian song birds?" He pulled into the bar's parking lot at the same time as the other car poolers in the office.

"Oh, I do. I'm not so sure about Harlem songbirds though." I laughed, and then punched him in the shoulder before getting out of the car.

"You're really abusive." He rubbed the sore shoulder with a frown on his handsome face.

"You're really mean." The frown quickly dissipated and was replaced with a smile at my childish wording.

* * *

I sipped on a Piña Colada as the very sweet woman I now know as Phyllis introduced me to her husband.

"Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration." My eyebrows rose as we shook hands. That was a very interesting way to introduce oneself.

"He works in the same building as us." I nodded blankly at the couple and inwardly I cringed at the desert of a conversation we were having.

Jim

She was sipping a Piña Colada which is exactly what she smelled like. She looked out of her element talking to the Vances. When they were done, I made my way over to her in hopes of getting her to join me in laughing at Andy on the dance floor. Just as I sat down on the stool next to her, the song changed from classic rock to latin. They didn't usually play that kind of music here at Poor Richards in the lowly populated suburb of Scranton, Pennsylvania.

"Watch my drink!" I sat stunned, not really wanting to watch anything but her.

She hopped off her stool and took off the light cardigan she was wearing. My eyebrows rose as I watched her smoothly make her way over to Andy in nothing but her red camisole and black skirt. I thought I started to hallucinate, but I had a feeling that the two of them Salsa dancing was for real. Their footwork was flawless as they skirted their way around the polished floor of the pub. They spun, dipped and twirled around as if they've been doing it for years.

All eyes were on the dancing duo as if they were watching some professional dancing competition. There was no space between their bodies as they swiftly swayed together. Andy spun Danielle so that her back was facing his front and I felt uncomfortable at how intimate it looked. Mentally, I cursed myself for choosing basketball over dancing in high school, especially if it meant that I'd be that close to a girl.

My stomach dropped when I saw Danielle and Andy grin simultaneously. They were back to being face to face and was it just me or did the placement on the small of her back suddenly get lower? Relief washed over me when the song ended and Danielle made her way back over to me. I tried to look at her face as she walked over and not the sway of her large hips, but I am a man, so I couldn't stop myself completely.

"_Six months on the sidelines, but now he's back in the game."_

Danielle

"Wow. That was amazing. Where did you learn how to dance like that?" I wiped my brow and sat on my stool.

"Thanks. Water please?" The bartender nodded and I continued talking to Jim.

"My parents met in dance class in college. My mom majored in it and she was the student teacher." I fanned myself while sipping my ice water, letting Jim digest that information.

"Do you want to see what I did?" He looked puzzled, but followed me outside anyway. We peeked our heads out of the bar entrance to see Erin and Andy making out on the side of the building. I laughed at Jim's 'oh my god' expression.

"Don't act so perplexed. They were ticking time bombs of sexual tension, just like teenagers. Erin didn't tell me, but I could tell that when they were dating, they weren't doing it yet. And when they were single before that, they weren't getting any because they don't seem like the type of people to do one night stands, which is why Erin decided to make a move conveniently after Andy and I danced. Let's just say they're going to be busy tonight." We closed the door and leaned on the cool inner brick wall.

"Do you always hook your coworkers up?" I smiled and crossed my arms.

"Why? Do you need help?" He looked stuck as if he didn't know what to say.

"No, I'm good." I nodded, accepting his answer.

"Good because I wouldn't believe you if you said you did." I looked around to see that everyone looked bored. I went to the bar and waved the bartender over.

"Hey, can I get some spoons, shot glasses and a bottle of whiskey for my friends over here?"

* * *

Phyllis, Meredith, Jim, Michael, Oscar, Creed and I all sat shoulder to shoulder at the small circular table. We were about to play spoons and everyone else stood around to watch.

"Where did you get the cards?" I didn't look at him as I continued to set everything up.

"Michael made Dwight go out and buy some. I have to reimburse him for 57 cents." He laughed as I finished up.

"Alright, Mrs. V, Obvious Dye Job, Baby Face, Boss Man, O-scar and Old Dude. Are you ready to play spoons?" They all laughed at my nicknames for them and said 'Yes' in unison.

"Do we all know the rules?" They chimed in with their yes's again, all looking eager to play.

"Then let us play."

Playing spoons with the six of them was so much fun. Since we were so cramped at the small table, Jim kept cheating by looking to see what cards I had. Whenever someone got a match, Jim and I were sure to follow. He even tried to knock the spoon from my hands numerous times. When he was too slow to get one, he would try to pry mine from my hands. The loser had to take a shot and at first, everyone was losing every now and then, but I knew that I wasn't the best spoons player, so I should be tipsier by now. Eventually, I started to think that Meredith was losing on purpose.

"Ugh! Meredith." Michael exclaimed as she unbuttoned her shirt, but luckily she had an undershirt on.

"Are we not playing strip spoons?" Everyone gave sounds of disapproval and I looked underneath the table to see a pair of shoes and socks on the floor. She was being serious.

"Uh, ok. Who knows how to play Viking?" I looked to Jim with amusement.

"How do you know that game?" He smiled at me, but looked away as Meredith ran off into the bathroom barefoot. Everyone scooted apart, now having much more elbow room, but Jim and I remained where we were.

"I did go to college for a little bit." I made a face at his remark and allowed him to explain the game to our co-workers.

Playing Viking with them was much more fun than spoons. No one could really keep track of their left and right except for Phyllis. Michael was horrible and we all pointed to him just for the hell of it. One time I got pointed to after a 6 person sequence and I just couldn't remember it all, so I didn't even try and just took the shot. Another time, Phyllis, Jim and Oscar were just going back and forth, but Oscar slipped up and had to take a shot. We all laughed at his demise and stopped the game, not wanting to get too wasted.

'Time After Time' by Cyndi Lauper came on and with ease; I got Jim off his stool. As we danced, his hands were on my hips and mine were linked behind his neck.

"You like this song?" I nodded without hesitation.

"Mmhmm. I'm a big 80's fan."

Jim

I smiled at that because so was I. We were dancing close, but not too close and I was once again admiring her collarbone and the scar that was above it and the two other things that were below it. I saw Michael making his way over to us even though he was dancing with Meredith who now had her shoes on.

"May I cut?" He let go of Meredith and I twirled Danielle over to Kevin who was being a wallflower. I started dancing with Meredith, leaving Michael with no dance partner.

"Sorry, Kev asked first." Remembering that Meredith's shirt was unbuttoned, I didn't dare look down.

Danielle

"_What do I think about Jim? He smells good, he's funny and completely sexy. The best part is that I know he's not drunk, so he can take me home AND I totally trust that he's not going to take advantage of me tonight. Or ever. Too bad, right?" I rubbed my eyes under my glasses. "Don't quote me on that though. It's not like I want to be raped...ravished maybe."_

Jim

Danielle was half asleep in the car as she cutely bobbed her head to 'gives you hell' by the All American Rejects on the radio.

I parked in front of the building and shook the bifocaled beauty to get her attention. She turned to me with half lidded eyes, the green irises barely peeking out from them.

"What are you doing tomorrow Costas?" She shrugged nonchalantly.

"Suffering from a hangover." I laughed at her sense of humor.

"How about I take you on a tour of the city?" She gave me an exhausted smirk.

"It's not like I have anything better to do and my car's still locked up in the parking lot remember?" I hoped that she remembered this conversation in the morning.

"Mmhmm. Hey, can you do me a favor and take some aspirin before you go to bed? I'll pick you up at 12:00 ok?" She nodded and woke herself up enough to get out of the car. I leaned over the passenger's side to call to her out of the window.

"Do you need help getting in?" She shook her head no.

"Good Night Jim."

"Bye Danielle." She smiled before stumbling into the building.

**So this one is the last one until I get some love in the form of reviews. Hoped you like it!**


	4. So Why Are You Working In Paper?

Disclaimer: Yadda Yadda, you know the drill.

**Carlye: I appreciate your review, but I'm confused. What are you thinking about when you say "other stories"? I thought I was only writing one. **

**StrawberryPajamas: I'm trying and this update is proof of that. I liked that chap too, but this one is just as good.**

**Samuel Chang: Thanks, I'm glad you like Danielle. She's my favorite character I've created so far. **

**My reason for this update is that I just got accepted into college and I'm really excited for that. So I'm taking it out on you guys. Hope you like it!**

**By the way, I changed a few things in the previous chapter, it's no big deal, but you can check it out if you're curious.**

Jim

I rang her doorbell nervously at 12:00 sharp. Danielle came walking down moments later.

I almost didn't recognize her because her hair was down. The ebony curly locks cascaded past her shoulders and down her back. I was expecting her to wear a more toned down version of what she wore to the office, but I was pleasantly surprised at her mall attire. She was wearing a red t-shirt with a very detailed picture of pirates pillaging a town and a boat sinking in the foreground. She was also wearing short black shorts that showed off her russet colored legs. A beige messenger bag was slung over her shoulder and Chuck Taylor's covered her feet. Her appearance was just too good to be true.

"Hey Jim. I'm glad to see you here because I vaguely remember our conversation in the car last night. I don't have your number so I just got ready and sat on my couch for a half hour hoping that you would ring the doorbell soon because I don't remember what time you said, but I had a feeling it was noonish." She blabbered as we walked to my car and I opened the door for her.

"Well you can get my number from my phone which is right here and please put your number in there too while you're at it." I handed it to her over the arm rest and she smiled warmly at me.

"Ok." She said as she took out her phone as well.

"You know, you're not acting like someone with a hangover." She shook her head as I started the ignition.

"No, it only lasted for a little while, nothing major. I took your advice last night and it worked. I don't drink often, so I was really grateful for the crafty aspirin trick. I never thought of taking it before I went to bed." I furrowed my eyebrows at her. She seemed clever enough to know that and have experienced more drunken nights. Maybe I was just stereotyping her because she was a pretty girl from New York.

"You're welcome. Just call me anytime for any more common household remedies." We smiled at each other and as expected, she played along.

"Do you know how to get rid of these ugly freckles? They're everywhere and I wouldn't mind if I had a few, but my mom cursed me with this clusterfuck on my face." I made a face at her negativity and her choice of words.

"Ok someone's a fan of Dane Cook." She laughed, but I waited for her to stop before continuing. "I happen to like your freckles, so I refuse to tell you how to get rid of them." She smiled at me and shoved my shoulder.

"Costas! Please! I'm trying to drive here!" She laughed at my joke and I felt content with flirting with her in the first two minutes of our drive.

Danielle

Jim was really hilarious during our one hour tour of Scranton. It was kind of sad that the small town could be viewed in such a short period of time. At the end of the hour, I found myself not being able to get over Jim's compliment from earlier.

"_He thinks my freckles are cute! No guy I've ever dated has ever told me that. Ok, so he didn't exactly call them cute." I sighed and scratched my head. "I feel like I'm in high school again."_

"Thank you for the tour. Now I won't have any trouble finding the movie theatre." We entered the rather small Steamtown Mall, (A/N: Holy shit that rhymed!) heading to the food court first.

"Oh you like movies?" I nodded my head vigorously. I would've said 'duh', but I didn't want to make the guy I like feel like an idiot around me.

"Of course. I minored in film in college." He gave me a look before speaking up.

"So why are you working in paper?" I gave a small smile as we hopped on the escalator. I was always fascinated by those things.

"I don't know. All my other siblings moved for their careers and I didn't want to leave my parents for Hollywood. And my sister lives there, but that's a story for another day. During college, I got hired as a saleswoman at Dunder Mifflin and when I graduated, they offered me a higher paying position in New York. I was already moving back, so why not? I know New York is America's second Hollywood, but I didn't want to go for it. I already had a job that I was getting paid a pretty penny for, so why give it up?" He nodded at my story, not really having anything to say.

"Just because I don't want to work in the business doesn't mean that I don't like movies." I mentally slapped myself for my lame attempt at trying to save the conversation.

"Oh really? What's your favorite movie?" I smiled at his curiosity.

"Forrest Gump, hands down." He laughed at my enthusiastic response as we reached the food court. We sat down at a table, not yet ready to end our conversation.

"That's a classic." I rapped my fingers on the table.

"I know right? I can never get tired of watching it. What's your favorite movie Halpert?" He tapped his chin as if he was actually thinking.

"The Shawshank Redemption." I squealed a little and clapped my hands.

"Best Stephen King novel adaptation ever." He nodded with me, still amused at my hyper behavior.

"Agreed."

We parted ways, Jim getting in line for Mexican food and me getting in line for Italian. I made it back to the table with my salad and pizza first because my line was shorter. He sat across from me as I unpapered my straw.

"You know, I had a feeling that you were a jeans and t-shirt kind of guy, it suits you." He looked down at the shirt he was wearing and smiled.

"Thanks. I really like your hair; I've never seen anyone with that kind of hair before." That was the second compliment today, but it was prompted by my compliment, so it wasn't a big deal. I still tried not to blush as I looked at him.

"Thank you, I get it from my grandpa."

"Well I get my fashion sense from the 15 year old boy inside of me named Jim Halpert." I giggled while taking a bite into my pepperoni and mushroom pizza.

"You know, we are in the mall, a place for teenagers. So why not gossip to fit in?" His eyebrows rose at the idea and I couldn't help, but swoon over the soft blue tint of his eyes.

"Good idea, who do you want to know about first?"

"Let's start with Erin." He did a faux wince thing.

"I don't know much about her, she just started working here."

"Ok then, Kelly."

"She is the most talkative and most girly person you will ever meet. I personally try to avoid conversations with her because they are usually one sided." I nodded, mentally storing the information.

"Ok, how about Ryan?"

"Ryan and Kelly started dating because one day, I decided to take my stupid pills instead of my smart pills and hooked them up." My mouth was open in shock. I've only been working at Dunder Mifflin Scranton for three days, but I've seen enough Ryan/Kelly PDA to last a lifetime. Jim created a monster.

"I know. I did a terrible thing." I scoffed at his choice in words.

"Damn right you did."

"Thanks for rubbing more salt in the wound." I waved my hand.

"No problem, please continue."

"Well Ryan started off as a temp, but then he got offered a job at corporate as the new CFO and he got power crazy and got arrested for fraud because he lied about the sales on his crappy website for Dunder Mifflin Infiniti. He and Kelly have been on and off constantly for the past couple of years and when he got out of jail, Michael hired him as a receptionist and then he went off to Thailand which was actually just Ft. Lauderdale. When he came back, he started working at a Bowling Alley. But he quit when Michael offered him a job at his own paper company." I held up my hand to pause his story.

"Wait what?" He put down his taco before further explaining.

"Corporate brought in a co-manager to Scranton to nullify all of Michael's power, so he got upset and quit, only to start his own paper company. He tried to get all of us to join him, but we didn't fall for it, especially not in this economy." I pushed my tray to the side, completely finished with my salad and pizza, now only left with my soda to sip.

"Was it called the Michael Scott Paper Company?" He nodded, confused by how I knew that. "It's Michael, come on."

"Touche. So Michael and Ryan started to sell paper really cheap and they were taking all of our customers. Corporate was freaking out, but they had no idea that Michael was broke and I did. I hated the new boss, so I tipped Michael not to let David Wallace know that his company was quickly going under. He listened to me for the first time in his life and Corporate bought out the company for $60,000, Ryan and Michael's old jobs back with full benefits and Michael had to be the only boss. They were willing to go with that, but they didn't want Ryan on Sales as he was at the Michael Scott Paper Company, and that's where you come in I guess. So Ryan got $20,000 and Michael got $40,000 and gave me $5,000 for playing both sides for him." I smirked at that. Jim was a smart guy, probably smarter than anyone in the office.

"Was the new boss Charles Miner?" He tried to read my curious expression before answering.

"Yeah…why?" I debated on telling him the truth or at least the semi-truth, but I reminded myself that Scranton was a fresh start and lying or giving the semi-truth was going to get me nowhere.

"We used to date, Charles and I."

He looked speechless and a bit cold as I confessed about my most recent ex.

"Don't judge me. Because we both know that we've dated people that we regret now."

Jim

I don't know if I necessarily regretted dating Pam. It took a long time for us to be together, but to me it was worth a try and because of how long it took for us to get to know each other, we were already comfortable as a couple. But Katy and Karen, I definitely regret dating them. They just weren't my type and it was a waste of time for everyone.

"No, no, I'm not judging you. I'm just trying to wrap my head around you dating a heartless robot like him." That got a smile out of her.

"Charles was a bit cold blooded wasn't he?" I nodded in a grave manner and she snickered before telling me the story of their relationship.

"Well I was dumb and new to the NYC branch. I worked under him and he was impressed with my sales record. We hit it off at one of the rare office parties and we started dating soon after. Our first kiss was during the song 'I wanna be your lover' by Prince." I cringed at that and she chuckled at my discomfort.

"I'm sorry, I promise I won't get that personal anymore." I sighed overdramatically and waited for her to continue.

"He knew all the basics about me, but it was like he didn't care to know me any deeper. I bet he doesn't know more about me than you do and we were dating for over seven months." I suppressed a grin at that.

"I was like a trophy girlfriend to him anyway, I don't hate him though. There were no hard feelings after we broke up and he was nice enough to get me a job here so we didn't have to see each other everyday. He told me that I would add a balance of a sound mind to this branch." She sounded like she wanted to say more, but stopped herself at the right spot.

"So, what about Andy?"

* * *

On the way out of the mall, we saw Dwight and Angela walking out of a lingerie store and into a baby store. The two of us laughed all the way down to the parking lot and only when we got into the car did we start to cool down.

"Hey Jim, do you have any plans for the next hour or so?" I tapped my fingertips against the steering wheel in a realm that I spend too much time in, what I like to call false thought.

"Yeah, actually I have an online Scrabble game scheduled with this guy from Sweden." She rolled her eyes as if she were actually bothered.

"I'll bake you cookies." That sounded delicious, so there was no way I could say no.

"I guess I'll cancel. Albin's gonna curse me out in Swedish next time I talk to him though." She put on a straight face as I headed to her place.

"It's the price you have to pay for a warm cookie."

She lived on the second floor and her apartment smelled like Cinnamon. It was small, only consisting of a bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, living room and a small dining room connected to the kitchen, but she made it work. The walls were a lavender color and there was a lot of fancy photography posted on the higher part of the walls in black frames.

"Did you take these?" She sheepishly nodded.

"Photography isn't much different than film." There were pictures of Subway stations, the New York skyline, Chinatown and various streets. One that threw me off was what looked like a European countryside.

"That is from when Charles and I vacationed to England for his birthday. I used to live in Chinatown, that's why those are up there. I lived upstairs of the best cheap Chinese restaurant in the world. They gave me free Crab Rangoon whenever I wanted it and they even taught me a little bit of Mandarin. They were really cool." Another one that caught my eye was one of an older blonde guy teaching a baby how to walk. I was confused because of the rest of the photos didn't depict people and this one was faded slightly by time. I looked at it a bit longer to realize that the blonde guy looked an awful lot like Andy Warhol.

"Oh my god. Is that a picture of Andy Warhol teaching you how to walk?" She looked even more embarrassed at that.

"Yeah, he was a family friend. He met my mom backstage after one of her Broadway performances and they hung out a lot. When my parents were too busy working, he took the liberty of babysitting us. My oldest memories are of him and the factory." I turned to her and voiced an honest question.

"Ok, so it's about 2:30 now, when will you cease to amaze me?" She shook her head at my joke and blushed a little bit. I grinned at her reaction and followed her into the kitchen.

We played Scrabble while eating chocolate chip cookies and I really enjoyed myself. Especially after I formed the name Dwight and she laughed for about three minutes over it. She was too busy trying to chew a cookie while laughing to know that forming a name was against the rules. After hanging out today, we were much more comfortable with each other and I looked forward to spending more time with her and crossing my fingers, hoping not to get stuck in the friend zone.

**I'm done begging for reviews, but I do enjoy writing this story, more so than my other ones. **


	5. He wears briefs, I can feel it

Disclaimer: I don't own shit

**Buru-beri-chan: I'm so glad you decided to join the rest of my faithful reviewers. Yeah, I made that line because I thought it felt like something he would say. Thanks for the congrats. I'm going to school for film, that's why I have such a fine taste in movies. Those are my two favorite movies.**

**Carlye: So the interactions with other characters?**

**StrawberryPajamas: Thank you. It wasn't really a date though. Jim was just trying to spend more time with her without it being a date. **

**I just found out that John Krasinski smokes. I can't picture it at all. That's like telling me that Ellen Degeneres is a pimp. No way. **

**I know this one's short, but that's only because I'm trying to write this story like the show which is day by day 99% of the time. (The only exception I can think of is the episode when they make their own commercial and at the end it says a couple of days later or something) So if it makes you feel any better, the next chapter is reeeeeeeaaaaaally long. **

Danielle

I've been working here in Scranton for 2 ½ weeks now and I have to say that I've been getting into the hang of things pretty well. I avoid Angela at all costs and I am subliminally trying to teach Kelly not to dominate conversations. I've been hanging out with Jim less, but only because I've been trying to get to know everyone else better. Oscar invited me to lunch with him and we found out that we both spoke fluent Spanish.

"Why are you surprised that I out of all people speak Spanish?" I shrugged, dipping my French fry in my barbecue sauce.

"Contrary to the stereotype, I know a lot of Hispanics that don't know a lick of Spanish. It's sad really, letting part of their heritage go to waste like that." He nodded in agreement.

"I plan on teaching my kids Spanish." I was so happy to hear that.

"You plan on adopting?" He wiped his hands on a napkin and I sat a bit straighter, knowing the atmosphere had changed.

"You already know I'm gay?" I was confused as to why he was upset about that.

"Yeah, it's no big deal. I had a lot of gay friends back in New York. They would always borrow my pumps whenever they did drag because I wear a size 11." He gaped at that and I smiled, continuing on with my story. I was used to people's reaction to my shoe size.

"They would take me out to their drag shows and gay bars. If not for them, I would have no sense in style." He grinned at that and that day we made an unspoken agreement that we were friends.

* * *

I even took the time to get to know Michael better. We made plans to stay after on a Friday and watch a movie of my choice together. He looked excited as he sat with perfect posture in the conference room. I stood next to the TV, DVD in hand.

"Well I know you are a slave to comedy, so I brought the funniest movie I own." He looked really eager for me to continue, so I dragged it out a little bit to see if the suspense would kill him.

"Anchorman!" I showed him the cover and his excitement faltered.

"Is that Will Ferrel?" I nodded and looked down at the cover and then him.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" He scratched his head and his eyes met the floor.

"He's not that funny. I used to watch Saturday Night Live all the time and he never made me laugh." I frowned at that. That wasn't even possible, Will Ferrel was hilarious!

"Well uh, he's not the funniest guy in this movie, so I think you'll enjoy the lesser known comedians." I put in the DVD and took a seat next to him.

"I hope so." I shook my head at him as the movie started. I knew he would like it.

Just as I thought, he loved it. He laughed at the pitchfork fight and Jack Black's cameo and I have to say that his laughter was contagious. I loved watching funny movies with people who haven't seen them yet. His little side commentary made everything funnier than it actually was.

"Why are they dressed like that?" I looked at him to see if he was serious.

"Michael, this takes place in the 70's. Look at the hair, mustaches and sexism." He shrugged.

"I never would've guessed."

By the end, tears had started to form in my eyes from laughing at Michael throughout the entire movie. It felt good to bond with my boss and it was amazing to quote stuff with him throughout the day and no one knew what we were talking about. He did a really good impression of Brick which was kind of creepy because they looked exactly alike.

"_The only time I really feel out of place is when Jim plays pranks on Dwight. They are really funny and I want in."_

Today, I was helping Erin clean out her desk and we were whispering about her relationship with Andy.

"He wears briefs, I can feel it." She gave me a defeated nod.

"You're starting to creep me out with this whole being able to read people thing." I threw some papers in the recycling bin behind me. I saw her pull out a red folder from the bottom of one of her many drawers.

"Hey. Don't throw that away. It's in a red folder, which means it's important." She shrugged and handed it to me.

"Doubtful. It must be the old receptionist's." I put it to the side, curious to read it later.

When I got back to my desk, I put the contents of the folder into a manila folder so that I could read it in secrecy. It was a plan to get Dwight to believe that he was overqualified to work at Dunder Mifflin and the C.I.A. got him the job to protect the workers, not sell paper. He had to keep everyone from dying until June 1st which was tomorrow! I have to thank this ex-secretary if I ever meet her. I was lucky to have found this in time. I kept reading to see that Dwight would get no reward because it is a citizen's duty to protect others, but if he fails, he would be executed by a guillotine.

"What are you smiling about?" I was so immersed in this foolproof plan to even realize that I was smiling. I thought about telling Jim about this prank, but decided against it. I know I was being childish, but he never included me in any of his schemes.

"Nothing." I dropped my smile and shook my head. I got up and pretended to fax something before walking over to Dwight.

"This was faxed for you Dwight." He snatched the very well designed federal paper from me and I tried not to notice his reaction to reading the letter, but I couldn't help to look at him as he tensed up and his eyes rapidly searched the room.

Out of a mixture of boredom and morbidity in high school, I learned how to give myself a pretty nasty paper cut and sometimes, if I was lucky the teacher didn't have a band-aid and would send me to the health room. I loved doing that because the school nurse was a hot young guy who looked like a well groomed Kurt Cobain, as if that was even possible.

"Oww!" Dwight immediately went stiff.

"What? What happened?" I removed my index finger from my mouth.

"Nothing. It's just a paper cut." Did I mention that I was the lead or supporting actress in every play and musical I was in from 4th grade until college? Chicago was my favorite.

I held back a smile as he hurried over to me with a large first aid kit that he pulled from under his desk.

"Let me clean it. The smallest cuts can lead to infection." He wiped antiseptic on the little laceration.

"Dwight, don't you think you're overreacting?" I looked to Jim with interest. Dwight simply scoffed and applied the band-aid.

"Aren't you underreacting?" Jim looked taken aback, waiting for Dwight to carry on. "Your girlfriend was bleeding two feet away from you and you didn't do anything." I put my hand over my mouth to stifle my laughter as Dwight put away the materials. Jim just shook his head, knowing there'd be no use in telling him otherwise.

"Good news everyone. I am in a fantastic mood today, so tomorrow, we are going on a picnic. My treat." I grinned knowing the news put Dwight on edge. What are the odds of that?

* * *

At the end of the day, Jim questioned me in the parking lot.

"What are you up to Costas?" I shrugged.

"Nothing much. Shrugging." He laughed at my cute way of dodging the question.

"I guess I'll find out tomorrow." I raised an eyebrow at his suspicion.

I got in my car, but didn't pull off until zipping my lip and throwing the key out the window.

**Also my friends, in my writings, I've gotten to the point that it's Danielle's birthday, but I can't think of anything that Jim would give her. It can't be too big because they've only known each other for about six weeks by the time her birthday comes around. So if you have any suggestions, please put it in a review or PM. I would greatly appreciate it.**


	6. Whatever Halpert

Disclaimer: I only own my creativity that spawns from my boredom.

**BandDork13: Thank you, I thought they were ok on the show, but I got annoyed as the seasons went on and when I found myself more and more attracted to Jim. All my stories are with OCs because I just can't fathom writing about a character that isn't my own. By the way, update your Phil story.**

**Esuslol: Well you're really the first to like it for that reason, but I know that the Star Trek:2009, Inglorious Basterds and True Blood categories have a significant number of Black girl/White guy pairings. **

**Buru-beri-chan: I know right, thanks for the suggestion.**

**StrawberryPajamas: I thought you guys would hate it because it was so short, that's why I made it so eventful. You just gave me the greatest idea. No one has ever said that to me, thank you so much. **

**You guys make me so happy with your reviews. I had fun writing this chapter, but I do apologize if it seems a bit unbelievable. Keep in mind that Dwight K. Shrute himself is a pretty unbelievable person. This one's over twice as long as the last one, so please, do enjoy. **

Danielle

Before we left yesterday, Michael told us that we could dress casual today because we would be spending most of the day outdoors, so I wore jeans and a flannel shirt. The creepy looking weather man said that it would be a bit chilly by the lakefront. I woke up before my alarm clock, so I decided to take the extra effort to straighten my hair.

"Hi Danielle." I waved at him even though he was parked right next to me.

"Hi Jim." I found myself distracted as I followed him into the building. His butt looked amazing in his cargo pants and I could see the outline of his muscles through his long sleeve tee. He was also sporting an adorable baseball cap and little tufts of hair were poking out at odd angles. The cherry on top was that he had stubble and it just made him exude manliness. So much so, that I got Goosebumps just thinking about it.

I ran my hands up and down my arms as we stood in the elevator.

"You ok?" The deep tone in his voice only made it worse.

"_The morning is the easiest time of the day for me to get all hot and bothered. I'm not ashamed to admit there's no blood to the head yet." I rolled my eyes at what I just said. "Ugh, I sound like a man."_

As we entered the office, we saw Dwight decked out in hunting gear.

"And what mission are you on today?" Dwight scowled at Jim.

"If you must know idiot, I have given myself the duty of keeping everyone safe." I decided to join in on the questioning.

"Don't you think you'd be doing more danger than help with the way that you're dressed? I mean it's not like you'll die if we don't stay out of harms way." I smirked when I saw his Adam's apple bob in his throat.

Dwight

"_From birth to the age of four, Shrutes are forbidden to leave the household or do anything for their selves. It instills us with caution, but can cause us to be gullible and very dependent on others. Look at Mose for example, he plans to live with me until he dies. If he were like me, he would have his own farm by now… or at least his first date."_

Danielle

Andy came over to my desk with his guitar, playing the familiar riff to 'Heart Shaped Box' by Nirvana.

"I like your flannel, it reminds me of Kurt Cobain." I smiled at the compliment and he kept playing, prompting me to sing.

"She loves me like a Pisces when I am weak." He strummed louder and we attracted the attention of the entire office.

"I've been locked inside your Heart Shaped Box for weeks." I grinned as Andy sang. I prepared to sing the next line, until Jim interrupted, that is.

"Sorry to interrupt your lovely duet, but I'd rather not hear a depressed love song by a guy who shot himself." I sat there, jaw on the floor at what he just said. I never thought of Jim as a rude person, but he just lost some major brownie points. Whereas Andy gained some for arguing with him.

"He didn't kill himself. It's impossible for someone with three times the lethal amount of heroin in their system to pick up a gun and have the accuracy to shoot their self." I gazed up at Andy in awe.

"Exactly! There were no fingerprints on the gun." Andy and I grinned at each other. He and I had more in common than I thought.

Jim

"_Why did I do it? I was jealous. I know that Andy and Erin are together, but I know a thing or two about liking someone who's unavailable."_

Danielle

I walked with Andy and Erin out to the parking lot. I noticed that Andy was a little out of breath after taking the stairs.

"You ok man?" He nodded, but he was still breathing a little irregularly.

"I'm fine. My asthma's just been acting up lately." Erin spoke up.

"Do you have your inhaler?" He shook his head.

"No, don't worry about it." I heard rushed footsteps before I felt a tug on my arm. I turned to see a rugged Jim, he seemed frazzled and his breaths were a bit quicker.

"Danielle. Do you want to ride with me?" I tilted my head to the side and cursed myself for forgiving him within ten minutes or so.

"I would love that, you Nirvana hater. How can you like the Foo Fighters, but not Nirvana? They share a band mate, you know that right?" We headed off to the other side of the parking lot.

"Would you believe me if I said I was speaking out of my ass back there?" I fake gasped at him.

"You? Never!" As he laughed, I looked back to see Dwight closely trailing Andy with an inhaler in hand.

* * *

I looked in Jim's backseat to see fishing rods, buckets and bait.

"Woah! I didn't know we were fishing at the lake." He quickly glanced at me as I toyed with them in the backseat.

"Yeah, if you're into fishing, we could totally do some catch and release." I nodded in excitement.

"Yay! My dad used to take us fishing once a month, so that my mom could have the day to herself. Out of all the things I miss from my childhood, that definitely makes my top 5. My brothers would chase my sister around, trying to get her to smell their fishy fingers. I would just stand there with my dad laughing at them." I stared at the road thinking about my past, just realizing how ill-mannered I was by hogging the conversation.

"Sorry for my random trip down memory lane." He shook his head.

"No problem. I want to hear more about your siblings." I grinned, hesitating to tell him.

"Ok, well Dante's the oldest. If you think my eyes are green, you should see his, they're really bright. But I digress, he's the stereotypical older brother. Tough, mean and protective, except he has no soft spot. At least not one that I know of. He's stationed in Japan in the Navy, but he comes home for Christmas and the 4th of July. Chevelle's the second oldest and she's a total drama queen. She works for a fashion magazine in L.A., we don't always see eye to eye. Then there's the twins Leo and Michael. They are the biggest goofballs you will ever meet. I hate to say it, but they're my favorites. While the other two were too busy giving me the cold shoulder and making me feel like I was adopted, the twins welcomed me with opened arms. They got me with the lighter tricks, but hit everyone else with the heavy stuff, especially Mom and Chevelle. They always said it was because as women, they should've taken me under their wing instead of allowing me to be influenced by them. They didn't mind me being their shadow though. To this very day, Leo still complains that I took too much time away from Dad, causing him to be gay." Jim laughed at that.

"It sounds like some of your family wasn't happy to have you around." I shrugged, who cares if my entire family doesn't love me as much as they should. Yeah it hurt, but I wasn't going to whine about it.

"Well I was an accident and my parents were done having kids. There's a four year gap between me and the twins, so my parents were wary to start all over again unexpectedly. Dante and Chevelle were selfish preteens that wanted to hog their parents' attention."

"That makes us both the youngest in our families." I looked at him skeptically.

"You're not the only child?" He frowned and shook his head.

"No, what makes you think that?" I shrugged. I didn't mean to hurt his feelings.

"Most people I know who are the only child act just like you. They keep to their self for the most part, only letting a few people in."

Jim

It stung to hear her say that, but it stung even more that until now, I was oblivious that I even changed. Even when Pam was around, I still made time for others like going to Poor Richards after work just for the hell of it or making up the Office Olympics, anything to distract myself from work. At least back then, my kindness made up for the distractions I caused with my pranks, now I'm just annoying. Danielle was right, I blocked everyone out, but her. I felt like a dumbass for even holding a sliver of resentment towards her for taking the time to hang out with our co-workers instead of just me.

My face turned solemn as I took my keys out of the ignition.

"I didn't always used to be this way." We both got out of the car and she smirked at me from the top of it.

"Well I hope you don't stay this way." She opened the door to the backseat on her side to help get the equipment out of the backseat. "I feel kind of selfish hogging all the goods known as Jim Halpert."

I bit the inside of my cheek as I felt a familiar tug at the pit of my stomach.

Danielle

We made our way into a clearing in the woods where Dwight was laying down a very large picnic blanket all by himself. Jim and I exchanged a shocked look at the size of that thing. We could all fit on it with plenty of room in the middle.

"Michael, where'd you get such a humongous blanket?" He briefly looked up at me before helping Dwight with the blanket.

"My mom made it for me because she knew I wanted a big family." Even though what Michael said was really depressing, I couldn't help but to kill a laugh that had risen in my throat.

"Well, Danielle and I are going to enjoy the lake, so…we will see you later." We waved to them and walked off with our rods and a bucket of juicy earthworms.

Kevin

"_JD…or DJ! That would be their couple name. I know it's not as catchy as PB&J, but if you think about it, DJ's are better than Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches. Wait, you can eat a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich…"_

Jim

"I cannot believe that you laughed at Michael back there. You are so cruel." She glared at me and took a seat on a large rock.

"Whatever Halpert. You were laughing too." I smiled at her and held my hand out for her to pass me the bucket, but she must've misread my actions because instead, she handed me a worm from the bucket. I was really surprised that she did that. She wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty and it really made me like her more.

We were having a good time fishing, not really saying much. I had caught a really small fish and she didn't catch anything yet, but she seemed content with just trying. I could tell by the relaxed look on her face that she was reminiscing on what she had shared with me in the car. I felt privileged to know something exclusive about her.

"Ok you two, enough fishing. Time to mingle with your other friends and co-workers." I shook my head at his emphasis on friends and put my only catch back in the water.

"Why have you been carrying the first aid kit around all day? I thought Angela was in charge of that." Dwight glared daggers at Danielle.

"Extra precautions need to be taken today that Angela would not be able to handle if something were to happen." I marveled at how she was giving him a hard time.

"What's going to happen Dwight, because if it's something as big as you're making it out to be, I need to call my mother." He swatted the phone out of her hand with his karate skills.

"No reason." She looked prepared to kill as she picked up her phone and put it back in her pocket.

"Well then, you wouldn't need to know about any of my existing medical conditions." Dwight looked very panicked as he followed her back to the picnic asking her all kinds of questions concerning her health. I was left by the lake confused and carrying the buckets and fishing rods all by myself.

Danielle

Michael was kind enough to buy us all six inch subs from Subway. No one was complaining because we all got what we wanted due to Michael having Ryan go around before we left work yesterday and take our orders. I asked for onions and black olives on my Meatball Marinara (A/N: My mouth is watering at the thought of it), but I could taste banana peppers on there too. I know Ryan hated me, but was that the best he could do? I turned to him on the opposite side of the blanket and shook my head at him, only to receive that doe eyed look.

Ryan

"_There's not many ways you can sabotage someone through a sub, but I am brainstorming ways to get my revenge."_

Danielle

Dwight was watching me like a hawk until Meredith started coughing.

"Are you ok? Are you allergic to something on the sub? Ryan! Did you put cheese on there?" Everyone eyed the two as Dwight made a scene.

"No, it went down the wrong way is all."

"That's what she said!" I couldn't help but to snicker at Michaels joke, it never got old to me.

* * *

After we ate, everyone started drifting into private conversations. Jim, Kevin and I were talking about M&Ms.

"I don't know why, but I really love those mini M&Ms. They taste better to me." Jim nodded in agreement.

"Those are good." Kevin did as well.

"Mmhmm. I know what you mean. More chocolate and less coating." I smiled down at him laying dangerously close to the grass.

"Exactly."

"Oww." His hand went up to the back of his neck and Jim and I exchanged concerned looks. When Kevin withdrew his hand, we were shocked to see that there was blood. The three of us sat there cluelessly stunned until Kelly shrilly screamed

"Snake!" I wasn't usually afraid of snakes, but it depended on whether they were captivity or if they were venomous. I jumped up first and scurried off the blanket. It seemed like minutes before everyone else did too. In a flash, Dwight threw one of his many knives at the snake. I was impressed at his aim, but sad that he had killed the snake. Then he pinned Kevin down and started…sucking on the snake bite. Sounds of worry and disgust were exclaimed and things only got worse when Dwight spit out a bloody mess on Michael's blanket.

"Someone quick! Identify the snake! We have to know so that the paramedics can have the anti-venom at the hospital, if there even is one!" He took out his cell phone and threw it at Angela. "Call the hospital!" He then turned back to Kevin who tried to fight his advances.

"No!"

"I have to suck the venom out!" Dwight continued to force himself upon him.

"Can't Danielle do it?" I made a horrified face at that and Jim was the only one to tear his eyes from the train wreck to glance at me.

Dwight wrestled Kevin in a position to suck his neck again.

"Dwight, stop! Stop it Dwight! I'm going to be sick!" I turned to glare at Michael as he started gagging. I then turned to Andy, aware of his reaction to other people throwing up and put my hands over his ears just as Michael hurled all over the blanket. If Andy threw up, there would just be a chain reaction. He deeply swallowed as I took my hands away, but he was far from sick.

"Thanks." he weakly stated.

"No problem." By now, everyone was either watching Dwight harass Kevin, or Michael throwing up. That is until Ryan saved the day.

"Dwight, stop! It was a mud snake! Totally harmless." Dwight turned to face him with a bloody mouth and it made me gag. Ryan had a website of the snake pulled up on his iPhone.

* * *

It was only 4:00, but Michael let us have the rest of the day off. We all drove away, leaving the vomity, bloody picnic basket, but not before Angela cleaned up Kevin's snake bite. The drive back to my car was filled with the radio until Jim broke the silence.

"Did you have anything to do with any of that?" I nodded and we both broke out in laughter together. "As disgusting as it was, it was pretty funny and definitely amusing." I felt relief at that and ran a hand through my hair.

"Thanks, but I can't take the credit for it. I found it when I was helping Erin clean out her desk during lunch yesterday. It must've belonged to the old receptionist." His knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel and his smile was long gone.

"Did I say something wrong?" He shook his head no.

"No, I'm just shocked that she would do such a thing." I knew he was lying, but I didn't press the matter any further. He would tell me when we knew each other better.

Dwight

_I wiped the remaining blood from my lips. "I did what had to be done for my country." _

**Question: Could any of you guys visualize this entire story as being an actual part of the office for real? I'd love to hear what you think.**


	7. I Usually Don't Dress Like This!

Disclaimer: Danielle is mine

**BandDork13: Thank you for being the only one to actually answer my question! Aww, I'm sad to hear that, so this one's for you. Hope you feel better.**

**StrawberryPajamas: Thanks. That's one of the 'forshadowing elements' I've thrown in so far, but there are more. You just have to look deeper for them. The talking heads? Really? I have a really hard time writing those things. I find that very hard to believe that you liked them since they're half assed. Seriously, I reread the last chapter like 3 times to try and understand what the hell you were talking about. Don't think I'm taking your compliment for granted, because I'm not. I promise. **

**I thank ALL my readers for continuing to read because this has become my second most popular story on this site with reviews and hits. You know the deal, you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. **

Danielle

It was the beginning of June and I had officially been working at Dunder Mifflin for a month. I still haven't gone shopping with Kelly and I still have no idea if Jim is interested in me.

"Danielle, could you come in my office please?" I like seeing Michael flustered, so after I closed the door behind me, I said

"Well that depends on what you do for me." Only after stifling a giggle, was he able to look me in the eye.

"What's up Michael?" I sat down and looked at him seriously, waiting for him to continue. He hesitated in speaking which meant that it was important.

"I have to get rid of these concert tickets ASAP because the concert that they are for is on Saturday." That was tomorrow! I leaned forward in my chair, interested to hear more.

"What tickets?"

"Four tickets to see Lady Gaga in New York. I was supposed to give them away weeks ago, but I forgot…" I tried not to drool at the news.

"Well maybe you should give them to the top Salesman then." I had no idea who it was, but as far as I knew, I was the only person in sales who was a fan of Lady Gaga, so maybe I'd get them by default.

Michael nodded in agreement and handed me the tickets.

"That's you." I screamed and nearly leaped over his desk to give him kisses all over his face.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you so much Michael!" I walked out of his office feeling like I just won the lottery, but I put on a straight face before I reached reception.

"Erin, could you, Kelly and Andy meet me in the conference room as soon as possible please?"

"_How come I didn't invite Jim? He doesn't seem like the type of guy who would really enjoy himself at a Lady Gaga concert. I mean, could you see him in something flashy and flamboyant? I didn't think so."_

Michael

I walked out to Jim's desk shortly after Danielle walked out. I knew for a fact that he was itching to know what the hell was going on.

"Could you come into my office please?" Once we were in our seats and the door was closed, I began to address the situation.

"Sorry you had to see Danielle kissing me all over my face like that." On cue, there was screaming from next door in the conference room.

"Yeah, what was that all about?" I sighed before answering his question.

"Danielle was the top Salesman last month, so she won tickets to see Lady Gaga tomorrow. I'm sorry that she didn't invite you, but that doesn't necessarily mean that she doesn't like you." He looked really confused.

"Ok Michael, I honestly have no idea what you're talking about right now." He was such a bad liar.

"Ok Jim, ever since you confided in me about liking Pam, I'll admit, I've been watching you for signs because everyone gives off signs that they like someone. I mean, you knew when I liked Holly." He rubbed his forehead in what I guess was frustration.

"I knew that you liked Holly because you told me that you were looking at her butt during Yoga." I was going to say something dirty, but he interrupted me.

"That doesn't matter, Michael. You can't tell her. And don't let it slip like last time." I shook my head rapidly.

"I won't. In fact, you will. You're going to surprise her in New York this weekend." I pulled out an envelope for Jim just as Erin, Andy, Kelly and Danielle barged in.

"Sorry to interrupt Tuna, but we have got to talk to the boss man." Danielle then stepped forward to speak.

"Since the concert is tomorrow, we were wondering if we could all leave early today to enjoy the city." I nodded and waved them out.

"Yeah, sure." They all yelled and ran for the door. Even in the hallway, you could hear Danielle scream

"My place, 30 minutes!"

Danielle

I packed two cute outfits, pajamas and changed into a cute simple black polka dot dress. We all agreed to ride in Andy's car because it's the most eco-friendly. I stood on the sidewalk, duffle bag in hand when a Prius screeched to a halt in front of me. The trunk popped open and I threw in my bag before hopping into the backseat next to Kelly. Before I knew it, we were speeding down the highway wailing our hearts out to 'Dynamite' by Taio Cruz. The whole way there, we didn't play any Lady Gaga because we agreed that we wanted to starve ourselves of her until tomorrow, so that the concert would be more intense.

The concert didn't start until 8, but we were in line at 5:45 and the gates didn't open until 7. I usually wouldn't do anything like this unless if it was for Harry Potter. It was a crucially long time to wait in line for a concert, but it was worth it. It was a bonus that there were only a handful of people in front of us. Andy was looking very New York with a Gaga t-shirt, dark denim jeans and a black blazer. Erin was wearing a Lady Gaga hoodie and skinnies with a lightening bolt (courtesy of yours truly) over her eye. I was wearing a disco bra and high waist black shorts with a different Lady Gaga hoodie on top. Kelly was the one who went all out with a Halloween costume that she bought a year ago. It was Gaga's subway outfit from the Love Game music video, sans the staff. I looked Kelly up and down for the umpteenth time and giggled.

"You're insane." She poked me like she was pissed, but I wasn't convinced because she was grinning.

"Stop laughing at me. I'm not insane and I dressed like this because Lady Gaga's going to look into the audience and just swoon over my outfit." That only made me laugh harder. Oh, and did I mention that we were shitfaced? Who knows if we'll even remember tonight?

* * *

I retract my previous statement. The concert was amazing and something I will definitely remember for the rest of my life. As soon as they let us in, we rushed to the front and in no time, our ribcages were being squished to the gate. We immediately sobered up as our ears were treated with the tribal 'Oh's and rhythmic chants of 'Bad Romance'. I might just have to repay Michael for this, because so far, it's the best concert of my life and that's saying a lot because I saw the Rolling Stones live and I sat in the front row where I got to experience the sexual showmanship of Mick Jagger with my own eyes which was priceless.

The choreography was dazzling, Stephani's singing was phenomenal and all of the stage work and lighting proved sensational. It was all just so lively, it put Andy to shame. With the way he was belting out to 'Poker Face', I don't think he minded very much.

Jim

"So, do you like her?" I tried not to grip the steering wheel too hard.

I was driving Michael and myself to New York. I had no idea why I was doing something so impulsive. I must be delusional from being stuck in a car with Michael for so long. Another possibility was that I finally grew a pair.

"I thought we established that yesterday." He nodded and patted his hands on his thighs.

"Good, because she's been working here for a month now and it's really hard for me not to make a move." I rolled my eyes and turned on my blinker. He made many a pass at Danielle, all of which have obviously failed. "I was starting to think that you were gay or that Pam took your mojo with her to New York." I tensed at the mention of her name. Michael was the only one to bring her up anymore.

He patted my shoulder and kept yapping. "I'm just glad that you're back in the game man."

* * *

We arrived at Madison Square Garden at 10: 37 and the concert ended at 11, so Michael and I quickly started to make our way through the crowd looking for any of the four of them. I paled at the idea of not being able to find them after the hell I endured in the car to get here. I might just have to quit if I have to drive Michael back, but this would all be worth it if I just get a glimpse at Danielle.

As much time I spent looking at the back of her, I could not spot her out in a sea of people. I looked up towards the front to see if they were there and sure enough, I saw a guy who looked to be shouting and throwing his fist in the air. I looked around to see everyone else enjoying the show as well, but most of them were exhausted. The only person to have that much stamina after a techno pop Lady Gaga fueled concert was Andy.

I grabbed Michael's shoulder and pulled him towards me. "I found them!" I didn't look back as I pushed further through the crowd, but I just knew that he was following me with a dumbfounded look on his face.

Danielle

I was dancing with my fellow Monsters to 'Beautiful Dirty Rich' and I was getting really into it, closing my eyes, not paying attention to the show when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Instantly, my hand moved from the air to being cocked back in a fist. I gasped when I opened my eyes to see not another shitty fan asking to hold my spot while I peed, but Jim.

"Jim!" I held both sides of my hoodie together, not wanting him to see how I was dressed.

"I usually don't dress like this!" The other three turned around, hearing me shout over the music. I noticed Michael behind Jim, so I politely waved.

"Tuna!" Jim gave Andy a small wave just like I did.

"What are you guys doing here?" Michael answered me instead of Jim.

"We bear gifts!" I looked to Jim for a clue, but he seemed just as lost as I was.

Michael dug through his suit pocket and pulled out an envelope and discreetly handed it to me, not wanting the surrounding fans to notice. Andy, Erin and Kelly gaped at the envelope clutched to my chest. They reminded me of the hyenas from Lion King with the way they were drooling.

I mouthed the words 'Backstage Passes?' to Michael and he nodded while holding up two fingers.

The song ended and the cheering commenced. We all turned back to the stage to watch Stephani explain that there was time for one song left.

"Let me hold on to those for you." Jim offered in my ear and with the warm sensation of him standing directly behind me, I couldn't deny him. Without turning around, I let him peel the envelope from my death grip. I had no reason to be worried though, he had a breast pocket in his blazer. I mean if Michael could come into this place with the envelope safe in his possession, then Jim had no problem.

But as usual, my analytical side was telling me otherwise. So for precautionary reasons, I took Jim's arms and wrapped them around my waist. That way, no one would be able to rob him with the tickets pressed between us. He didn't seem to mind as he linked his hands together above my navel. I placed my hands over his as the upbeat tempo of 'Eh Eh' began to play.

Jim

Her exposed stomach was smooth underneath my palms. I couldn't tell if she was trying to get closer to the passes or to me. Either way, I didn't care. It was just nice for her to be in my arms. She lightly swayed her hips to a very mellow Lady Gaga song that I wasn't familiar with. Subconsciously, I pulled her closer to me and I smiled as I breathed in her fruity scented hair.

Danielle

Once the show was over, we made our way to the side of the gate where a very intimidating yet disgustingly pasty body guard was blocking the entrance to the backstage area. Looking at him, I was starting to believe that Vampires were real, or maybe I've been wasting too much saliva and brain cells over True Blood, probably the latter.

The six of us stood there amongst the crowd caused litter as I continuously changed my weight from foot to foot.

"Any of you have backstage passes?" None of us answered the burly bodyguard.

"Because if you don't, I suggest you get the hell out of here." His New York accent was strong and stern, reminding myself that I had to make a quick decision.

I looked around at my co-workers faces as if it would make things easier. Andy was rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet, making it a challenge for the nearly comatose Erin to rest her head on his shoulder. Kelly looked like she knew that she was about to be proposed to. Jim looked like he was having an inner battle of 'to care or not to care' and I was shocked to see that for once, Michael looked indifferent.

"Well I think that since you guys were my first picks and got the opportunity to enjoy the entire concert, it's only fair to ask Michael and Jim first." Kelly crossed her arms and pouted in jealousy.

"No way. If Michael would've just given you the backstage passes in the first place, I would've bought my own ticket and then guilted you into taking me backstage with you. I mean, I'd rather meet Lady Gaga, just saying." I let her finish her rant before turning to Michael.

He shook his head no to decline my offer. I then turned to Jim with hopeful eyes. He held is hand out to me and I held back a Cheshire grin, trying hard not to look too giddy.

**You've got the Freedom of Speech, so use it. **


	8. I'm not Batman

Disclaimer: This is purely fanfiction, nothing to lose sleep over.

**Volleyball Babe22: Thank you very much. I wish you would though because I hate being the only one out there with the balls to do this. It's sad really.**

**BandDork13: You're welcome. Thanks, it seems like you're the only one who thinks so. **

**StrawberryPajamas: Thank you, yeah I think so because look at their Male Prima Donna video. **

**Wow, I really think I'm losing fans here. Maybe because the last chapter was so busy and kind of out there. If you thought that, then you're not going to like this chapter. I'm only telling you that because I care. The next one's pretty awesome though, so stay tuned for that.**

**One more thing. Did anyone else enjoy the season premier or am I the only one as usual?**

Danielle

"Let's go." I grabbed his hand and together we walked up to the gloomy bodyguard. Jim took out the passes and held them up to his fearful face. My heart began to pound as he stepped aside. I was about to meet the Madonna of my generation. Well, not really, I'm old enough to know and enjoy both of them, but I digress.

I gripped Jim's hand tighter as we walked around backstage with no sense of direction. Even though the show was over, things were pretty hectic back here. People with headsets were running around like pinballs.

"I have a feeling her room is down this way." I pointed to a rather restless hall in particular. Jim's voice was laced with sarcasm when he replied.

"I highly doubt that." I looked up at his smiling face and I was relieved at his encouraging eyes.

I dropped his hand as we reached the door with the star on it only to have one rest on my stomach in an attempt to quell the butterflies and the other one ready to knock.

"This is it." Jim nodded in response and I took a deep breath.

I knocked 4 times, but it echoed in my head for at least 12. A nasally "Come in." was heard and Jim did the honors of opening the door. Together we stepped inside to see Stephani sitting at her vanity. She was taking off her wig while wearing a very vibrant magenta robe that looked to be made of silk. She turned to us once the wig was off and I felt like we needed to explain ourselves.

"We have passes." Jim held them up after I nudged him in the ribs.

Stephani smiled and waved for us to come further in the room.

"Come in, I don't bite." Her New York accent was very comforting. She held her hand out for me to shake and Jim was sure to follow.

"I'm Danielle."

"And I'm Jim." She beamed up to us from her stool and I felt the need to make her aware of how much I loved her.

"I'm a really big fan. Probably one of your oldest too, because I've liked you since 'Just Dance' whereas most people jumped on the bandwagon when 'Poker Face' came out." She eyed my bra which was identical to the one she owned.

"I don't doubt that." I was nervous and I rambled when I was nervous.

"I have to be honest, I didn't really love you until you played a ballad of 'Bad Romance' on SNL and you were just you. You know, most people have either forgotten or want to forget who Amy Winehouse is so I think it'd be safe for you to go back to your natural hair color." She laughed at me and ran her fingers through her short blonde mane. I set my sights on Jim who was looking very entertained.

"I'll think about it." I stopped questioning Jim with my eyes and turned back to her majesty.

"Are you two together?" Never before had I blushed so quickly until that very moment. I bit my lip and shook my head.

"Nope." Jim stated.

I was too embarrassed to even look at him, but I did return my attention to Stephani so it wouldn't be too obvious.

"Well you better make a move soon, because she's hot. She won't be single for much longer." My eyes bulged out of their sockets for a moment.

Not only was she advising Jim to date me, but I was still wrapping my head around the fact that she called me hot.

"I'll think about it." Jim used her own words against her, making her smile broadly.

A headset guy peeked his head in before saying "20 minutes." And closing the door behind him.

"Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is what he means. I'm going to be on there later tonight." I perked up at the news.

"I love Jimmy Fallon." She raised a brow at me.

"Oh yeah. I'll get you tickets." I was taken aback.

"Oh my god, when?" She turned to her vanity and picked up a business card and handed it to me.

"Whenever. Just call my manager to hook you up. I'll have him look out for a call from Danielle…"

"Costas from Harlem." She gave me the widest smile of the night and I tucked the card in my shorts pocket.

"Well it was nice meeting you." Jim and I got the hint and waved goodbye before heading to the door.

"Ah, what the hell? I'll walk you out."

Jim and I led the way and Lady Gaga herself walked behind us with a body guard. We were both amazed that she offered to walk us out. The only thing she put on were her slippers and her signature Lennon shades.

"Kelly will never nag at you ever again." I liked the idea of that.

"I know right!" When we made it out there, Michael couldn't take his eyes off her, Kelly was being a total spaz, Andy was being a kiss ass and Erin definitely awake now, but still less outrageous as everyone else.

* * *

We all walked out of the stadium buzzed from the great night we just experienced. Jim and I were back to holding hands; luckily we were in the back of the group. We barely made it ten feet out of the doors when we heard a guy yell "Whoo! You go girl!" Usually I would just ignore and keep walking, but something about their voice make me turn around this time. It was my brother Leo outside of the arena smoking a cigarette with a posse full of queens behind him.

"Leo!" He quickly flicked the cigarette from his fingertips.

"Dani?" I dropped Jims hand, not caring that we probably lost the others. I ran to him as fast as I could in my heels. I felt like I was home once he wrapped his arms around me.

Jim

"Is this your boyfriend?" The three of us had gone across the street to get a drink.

"No, he's my friend Jim from work." I waved with my hand that wasn't holding my beer. Danielle was sitting between us in the circular booth.

"Do you take good care of her?" I thought this kind of talk was meant to be with the father, not the brother. And only if you were dating the girl.

"To the point that I feel like a butler." Danielle gasped and Leo smiled.

"I hope you don't really feel like a butler Jim, I'm sorry." I could tell that she was tipsy.

"No, it's fine." She shrugged Leo's arm from her shoulders and scooted closer to me.

"Are you sure, because I don't want you to feel like Alfred. 'Cause…'cause, I'm not Batman." She ignored Leo's laughter and I poorly held back a smile to make her feel like I was taking her seriously. She put a hand on my chest and leaned on my shoulder.

"You're more than a butler to me." Once again she gasped and lifted her head to look at me. "Maybe I am Batman."

* * *

The three of us stood outside at midnight trying to hail a cab. I finally got one as Danielle bid Leo a goodnight.

"How in the world did we end up going to the same concert?" She could barely even stand on her own feet.

"I'm gay remember? I wouldn't miss it for the world." She loudly slapped her forehead.

"Oh yeah, you like boys." She hugged him and I helped her into the cab. I waved to Leo before getting in and he waved back with much more enthusiasm.

"Where to?" I turned to Danielle to answer the cab driver's question.

"The Rad…Radisson of course." She said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. The cab driver didn't have the radio on, but Danielle randomly chose to sing 'London Calling' by the Clash.

In the elevator she seemed more sober. She knew what room she was staying in and what floor it was on. She toyed with the key to her room as we stood outside it.

"I hope you don't think I'm an alcoholic." I frowned at her hyperbole.

"No, no. Although getting wasted does prevent me from telling you things that you should really be aware of." I really hope that she doesn't remember that in the morning, or at least doesn't ask about it. I wasn't ready to tell her about how I felt.

She looked upset, but decided to move on to another topic.

"You never gave me my backstage pass." She held her hand out for it, but I shook my head, urging her to put it down.

"I think it'd be best if I held onto it." She seemed ok with that.

"What're you going to do with yours?" I shrugged.

"Throw it away." She looked at me like she was dreaming and hadn't heard a word I said.

"I'm gonna frame mine." Before I could blink, she was hugging me. I returned the random embrace and tensed as I felt her kiss my neck before letting me go.

"I'll see you at work Jim." And with that, she left me in the hall.

Danielle

On the way back, Andy was kind enough to pull over at a gas station so that Kelly and I could go to the bathroom. As soon as I closed the stall door, Kelly started talking to me.

"So, do you like anyone in the office?" If you don't know, it's very uncomfortable to be talked to while peeing.

"Uh, not really." I finished my business and exited the stall. Kelly was still at the sink, proving that she only came with me so we could have a little privacy. I washed my hands in haste, hoping she would drop it.

"Well it's just that you and Jim looked really close during the concert. And you chose him over me to go backstage. Then you guys disappeared, what's up with that?" I put my hands under the air dryer.

"Well, Jim's my best friend in the office and after the concert, we ran into my brother. That's it." She nodded and followed me out of the gas station and back to the car.

"Ok, but if you do like him, I suggest you watch the tapes. Erin didn't watch the tapes and once she found out about Andy's past relationships, she broke up with him."

"_What in the world could be so important about those tapes?"_

* * *

On Monday, I went to work fully rested and on my desk; I was surprised to see a box. The wrapping was silver and obnoxiously shiny and on top was a red ribbon. I tossed Jim a skeptical look before sitting down. I opened the box and in the box sat my backstage pass from Saturday. He never did give it back to me and I can't believe that he respected my half drunken babble enough to frame it. After closing it, I mouthed the words 'Thank you' to Jim.

After opening Jim's gift, I still hadn't gotten to work because Ryan was being a total spaz. He was up at reception interrogating Erin about our weekend.

"She wouldn't pick up her cellphone at all, did she even have her cellphone?" Erin appeared overwhelmed, so I decided to defend her.

"She was cheating on you with a red hot musical genius." He didn't have time to glare at me for long, because Kelly walked in.

"Babe, I've been worried sick." She put her hand up to silence him.

"You need to chill. I never act like this when you disappear for days at a time." They headed back to the annex before I could hear the rest of their hilarious argument.

During lunch, Jim and I conversed as usual.

"Did you really throw away your pass?" He looked at me with a stunned expression.

"You remember that?" I nodded and bit into the shrimp salad I had picked up from Applebees.

"Alcohol has no effect on my memory." He gawked at me.

"Who are you, Janis Joplin?" I laughed at his joke and shook my head.

"I don't know. I haven't been under the influence enough to know for sure." This time he laughed at me.

"No, I didn't throw it away, but it is well hidden in my room. I can't have people thinking that I like Lady Gaga." I rolled my eyes at his manliness.

"Well maybe next time, I'll get you backstage passes to see Aerosmith." His eyes brightened at the mention of them.

"Now that would be amazing." I smiled at his excitement.

"I know right." We enjoyed our meals before he started another conversation.

"What are you doing on Friday?" I shrugged and sipped my cold apple juice before answering him.

"I was going to go see Iron Man 2. I haven't been to the movies since I've moved here, so I'm behind on the new releases." He smiled at me in awe.

"I was too. Do you wanna go with me?" I tried not to stumble over my words in my haste to answer him.

"Definitely."

Michael

"_The tickets? I won two of them on the radio along with the backstage passes. The other four I bought out of the kindness of my heart. There was no contest for top Salesman, I just love playing cupid." _

**Funny story about typing this. When I typed "I was about to meet the Madonna of my generation." I nearly typed "I was about to meat the Madonna of my generation." I guess my subconscious was still stuck on the VMAs. **


	9. That was a foul

Disclaimer: I don't own the Office, but it's starting to own me

**Buru-beri-chan: I loved writing that whole scene. I have a Batman obsession, so I had to throw it in there. **

**BandDork13: I agree about Volleyball Babe22, but she hasn't responded to me yet. By the way, be careful what you wish for.**

**StrawberryPajamas: Haha, I'm glad I'm not the only one. I could see Lady Gaga doing that.**

**SERIOUSLY, HAS ANYONE BEEN WATCHING THE SHOW? OR NOT?**

Danielle

It was Friday and I walked into the office with some pep in my step. Today would be the first time Jim and I would hang out since New York and that was a week ago. I calmed myself down so that I wouldn't look desperate whenever Jim came in. I thought it was weird that he wasn't here yet because he always beat me to work. At 10:00, he still wasn't here and I was kind of crestfallen.

"Michael, do you know where Jim is?" He had his hands in his pockets, simply walking around the office.

"Yeah, he called in sick today." He simply states and went on his merry way.

"Sounds suspicious. It is a Friday after all. Do you want me to do a Stakeout?" Michael looked angry with Dwight for proposing such a stupid idea.

"No. What is wrong with you? Jim never calls in sick." Dwight pointed at him.

"Which is why we should be suspicious." Michael rolled his eyes at his assistant.

"Ok Dwight, if Jim was trying to get a three day weekend, where would he go? What would he do?" Dwight looked a little defeated, but pressed on.

"Florida." Michael waved him off.

"That's ridiculous. The furthest he's ever traveled was to New York to see Pam." I thought nothing of what he said until he looked at me with an expression that said 'I wasn't supposed to say that in front of her.'

"Dwight, just drop it ok." He sighed before going into his office and closing the door.

* * *

I sat at my desk for lunch and munched on a bag of Fruit Loops that I planned to share with Jim today. I was in the middle of checking my e-mail when I heard my cellphone vibrate in my bag. The screen read Halpert and I quickly opened it and put it to my ear.

"Hello?" I knew I sounded flustered, but I didn't care.

"Hey." He sounded raspy and weak.

"You sound terrible, I guess you really are sick." I frowned and nibbled on some purple Fruit Loops.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Maybe we can do a rain check on Iron Man." I nodded even though he couldn't see me.

"Definitely, I hope you get better ok." He sniffled before speaking.

"Thanks. My sicknesses don't usually last that long." I played with the ruffles on my blouse before asking

"Have you eaten any soup?" He gave me a feeble chuckle.

"No, I don't have any." I perked up with an idea.

"I could drop some off when I get off work." I could hear him smile through his sick voice.

"That would be great. I live at 4221 S Kelvin Lane." I wrote it all down on a post it note.

"Alright, I'll be there and maybe I can sweet talk Michael into letting me off early."

"_Guess who's really good at sweet talking?"_

After parking in his open garage, I walked down the short concrete walkway at 2:27, grocery bag in hand. In the other hand was the post it note with his address on it. I rang the doorbell and wrung my fingers together in anticipation. Within moments, Jim came to the door in his pajamas which consisted of a t-shirt and pajama pants. His nose was red and his eyes were heavy with sleep.

"Hi." He sounded like he just woke up.

"Did I interrupt your sleep? Because I can just go. You look like you really need your rest." He ran his fingers through his ultra unruly hair and I held the bag out for him to take.

"No, you came all this way just to bring me some soup. Come in, I got plenty of sleep, I was just napping." He stepped aside and I lowered the bag and entered his household. He closed the door behind me while I looked around. The walls were painfully white and the décor looked vintage. My favorite thing was the hardwood floor, even though it looked so out of place.

"Oh my god, I love hardwood floors. Growing up, we had carpet and it was disgusting. If I lived here, I would definitely pull a Tom Cruise in Risky Business."

Jim

"_How did I pay to de-shag the carpet? I finally sold the ring. I think I kept it for so long because I really wasn't over her, but now, I think it's safe to say that I'm ready for something new."_

It was sweet of Danielle to bring me some soup. Usually, someone's only this charitable to me if we're dating. Maybe she likes me too.

I rolled my eyes at my inner romantic and led her into the kitchen. I opened up the cupboard and she set the bag on the countertop. Together we started to put the many cans on the bare shelves. With the proximity of our bodies, I found myself wishing that I didn't have a stuffy nose, so I could get a whiff of her distinct scent.

Danielle

He turned to the left, away from me and let out a powerful sneeze. He seemed in a daze as he stood upright again.

"Sorry about that." I placed a hand on his shoulder.

"No, you go sit down and I'll make you some of this soup ok." He nodded and made his way into what I guess was his living room in a sluggish fashion.

I looked around the kitchen for a can opener, but I had no success. I opened what I assumed was the silverware drawer and lo and behold, I was right. Next to the forks was an old school can opener. I took it out along with a spoon and got to work on opening the can. As I leaned against the island, my right hand working incessantly on opening the can in my left. I wonder how and why such a young guy could own a house. It was far too big for him without a roommate. Maybe he did have a girlfriend after all. I needed to get a hold of those tapes before things got out of control.

I snapped back into reality as I heard the familiar sound of a can opening. I dumped all of its contents into a bowl and put it in the microwave.

"_He had to be single. He wouldn't take a road trip to New York with his boss if he wasn't single. He wouldn't have held my hand backstage if he wasn't single. He wouldn't take me to the mall if he wasn't single. I definitely wouldn't be here right now if he wasn't single."_

This time, the annoying ding of the microwave brought me back. The steam coming off the soup told me that is was hot enough, so I picked it up with a cloth that was on the top of the refrigerator and slowly made my way into the living room. Jim looked so cute bundled up into a blue blanket, one arm sticking out to channel surf. He quickly threw down the remote once he saw me. I slowly lowered down the bowl into his outstretched hands, making sure it didn't spill.

"Thanks." I smiled at him as he blew on a spoonful of chicken and noodle.

"You're welcome. Have you taken any medicine today?" He nodded looking content as he chewed.

"Yeah, I took some Nyquil last night because I felt a cold coming on and this morning I took a Dayquil." I shifted the weight on the balls of my feet out of habit.

"Well I think it's time you took another. Where do you keep your medicine?" His baby blues flickered from his soup to me, completely ignoring Michael J. Fox getting the Delorean to 88 MPH on TV.

"Bathroom behind the mirror which is the last room down the hall." I made my way to it and I couldn't help, but to feel like a nanny as I ran around the house for him.

I found it exactly where he said it would be. I stopped back in the kitchen first to get him a cup of cold water. I walked in on him blowing his nose and despite how defeated he looked, to me, he still looked gorgeous. I placed the water and medicine on the side table next to him.

"Thank you, but I think it's time you sit down and relax. You're not my babysitter." I obliged, but made a face at him.

"Finally. I thought you were going to make me an outfit out of my drapes next and tell me about a few of your favorite things." I turned to face them and frowned. They were plain and beige.

"No way. Those are hideous." He laughed and agreement and I couldn't help but notice that his bowl was empty.

"Do you want some more soup?" He shook his head, but I was already up in the kitchen and putting the bowl in the sink.

"Why won't you just come in here and sit down?" He called out to me and I quickly made my way back, with my heels clacking loudly on the wooden floor.

"Why? So I can watch Marty kiss his mother, influence Chuck Berry and get his parents together all in one night for the 1000th time?" He looked baffled as I crossed my arms in conclusion.

"You really do like the 80's don't you?" I nodded and made myself comfortable on the opposite end of the couch.

* * *

We had a blast just sitting on the couch, watching one of Steven Spielberg's best films ever.

"He's your favorite actor?" I shook my head in frustration.

"No, Tom Hanks is my favorite actor! Michael J. Fox is one of my favorite actors. Have you ever seen the frighteners? That movie would've sucked without him in it, kinda like Heath Ledger in the Dark Knight. I mean, Peter Jackson did a great job on it, just like his King Kong remake. Those two movies are way better than his stupid Lord of the Rings Trilogy." Jim laughed at my movie rant.

"I am warning you now, don't ever say that in front of Dwight because he will slaughter you in anger. Believe me; I've seen it with my own eyes." I laughed with him and noticed that color was returning to his face, his nose wasn't as vibrant, he stopped sniffling about a half hour ago and his voice was back to its smooth tone. I think it was about time for me to leave.

Jim

I really didn't want her to go, but I found myself walking her to the garage door.

"Ooh. A Basketball?" I was amused by her fascination with the orange orb.

She picked it up and hugged it to her chest as we stood in between our two cars.

"Yeah, I've got a hoop on the garage." I watched her scurry outside and look up to see the hoop. I followed her out just in time to see her make the perfect shot. I got the ball from under the hoop and dribbled it a little bit.

"You like basketball?" She gave me a fake laugh that only confused me further.

"Halpert, it's my favorite sport. There's only so much a girl can go through without feeling pressured to join the team." I continued to dribble and a smirk crept onto my face.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" She walked towards me with an innocent expression, only to snatch the ball from me and make an impressive jump shot in her heels.

"Like being taller than most of my family and 80% of the boys in my grade throughout high school. Whenever people got a good look at my hands, they'd say that they were either piano hands or basketball hands. And guess what? I already knew how to play the piano." She picked the ball up as it rolled to her feet and she passed it to me.

"What about you?" She walked towards me once more, no doubt with the intent to steal the ball again.

"I played in high school too." I faked her out and went left instead of right, making a perfect swish.

"Oh really?" I nodded and passed her the ball. "Well have you ever played against a girl?"

I didn't have time to answer as she dodged me with ease and made a remarkable shot once again.

* * *

The score was 20-32 and I was in the lead. We had to have been playing for over an hour. She was really good and I was awestruck that she hadn't even broken a sweat yet. We were taking a break in the garage, leaning against the trunk of her silver Malibu, enjoying cold bottled water that I had grabbed from the fridge.

"I just want you to know that I would definitely be in the lead right now if I wasn't playing in a skirt and heels." I grinned at her after swallowing a good portion of my water.

"I think we're pretty even actually." Her brows furrowed as she played with her ponytail. "I'm sick and barefoot, so I think it cancels everything out."

She rolled her eyes and looked down at my bare feet.

"I hate you. You can't let a girl win can you?" She put down her water and picked up the ball, making her way down my driveway.

"Costas, you can't hate me. Especially after all we've been through?" I called out to her, putting down my water and joining her as she dribbled the ball.

I took notice of her subtle smile as she dipped past me. I stood behind her, trying to reach in front of her to knock the ball out of her grip, but her left elbow was jutting out, preventing me from doing so.

Danielle

I made a move to get away and make the shot, but he spun me around to face him and in surprise I dropped the ball. I looked up at him, hearing the ball bounce on the concrete and probably into the street. His hands remained on my back as we looked into each others eyes.

"That was a foul." I whispered to him and in an instant, his lips were on mine.

I didn't move at first until the actuality of the situation hit me and when it did, it was as if I sprung to life. My hands instantly went up to his hair and I pressed my body closer to his. I barely had time to enjoy it before he pulled away from me.

"As long as I've been waiting to do that, I'm sick and I don't want to pass it on to you." Did he seriously just say that right now?

"Get the fuck out of here." I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him back to me.

This time, I made sure to enjoy every second of it. His lips were soft and his tongue knew exactly what to do as the kiss got deeper. I found it peculiar that his hands didn't move from my back at all. A bit flustered and overwhelmed, I slowly pulled away from him and took a step back. I closed my eyes as I caught my breath and I could feel his eyes looking at me.

"What are you doing?" His voice sounded flustered.

"I'm savoring what just happened because I know that it will never happen again." I avoided his confused face and made my way into his garage and to my car.

"Why not?" I rolled down the window so I could talk to him.

"Because you're way too good for me." I felt bad leaving him there, but I need to clear my head and with a little help, try to evaluate the situation.

**I'm so excited. I worked on a Film this summer and it's coming out in the local film festival TOMORROW! I can't wait to see it.**


	10. Don't Stop Me Now

**Disclaimer: I don't own the office, but I do own the freedom of speech.**

**StrawberryPajamas: I love Back to the Future. I have to watch it every time it comes on. Tom Cruise, huh? Just kidding, I read your message. Tom hanks is an insanely good actor. I tried watching Lord of the Rings when I was younger and I don't think my attention span could handle it. I'm too lazy to give it another chance now. No, it's not ending anytime soon. That would just be stupid. Why would you think that? Have you read many stories that have ended so soon after the main couple kisses? Thank you. It ended up being really amazing.**

**BandDork13: She's foreshadowing. Can't you tell? By the way, thank you so much for standing up for me. You're my hero!**

**Nard Dogg: Thanks.**

**Squiddlesmootsydoo: I would like to thank you for lighting a fire under my ass. I was starting to accept the idea that no flamers would find me, but you proved me wrong. Are you posting under an anonymous name, just so I can't flame you right back? Hot mess you say? Could you at least provide specific examples? I think you should take your own advice about posting something on the internet because you are coming off as more of a troll than a constructive critic. If you don't like my story, then please stop wasting your time with it. As far as I am concerned, Fanfiction has and always will be a self indulged fantasy. I believe that's why they call it Fanfiction. Unless you give me evidence as to why it is a hot mess, I cannot take your word for it. Are you aware that you still reviewed even though you said you didn't or are you too dense to realize that as well? **

**WinchesterAngel3389: Thank you so much for your review. It really brought me back into the mood to post this. I'm glad you like it so far. **

Danielle

"Leo, I need to talk to you. I'm sure your shopping spree can wait." I could hear him tsk over the phone.

"This better be good. There's a sale on skinnies at H&M." He can be such a complicated girl sometimes.

"It is, so get mom on three way." The sound of the 8 beeps was annoyingly loud as he dialed her number and pressed call.

"Hello?" I was surprised that she picked up on the first ring.

"Hello mother. Dani needs to talk to us. She says it's semi-urgent which eludes to the possibility that it has something to do with her oh-so personal life." I crossed my arms before speaking up.

"Hi mom." I gave a weak smile, knowing she was doing the same.

"Hi honey, why do you have us on speakerphone? Are you pacing?" I hated that she knew me so well.

"She's definitely pacing mom." Leo clarified. "I think it has something to do with that guy that took her to the concert. Remember, I told you?"

Nothing was said for a little bit.

"Well is it?" My mom demanded.

I nodded even though they couldn't see me.

"Mmhmm." It was silent once again until Leo chose to ask

"Well nothing bad happened right?" My pace quickened as I pivoted in front of the wireless phone.

"Not exactly. This is going to sound ridiculous, but he was sick, so I went to his house to give him some soup. Then after a while, we started playing basketball and he kissed me." I started to regret calling them up on impulse.

"Well was he really sick?" Leo inquired.

I thought back to when I was at his house.

"Yeah definitely. Jim, wouldn't pull a stunt like that." Well, I hoped not.

"Well Danielle, I don't see what the problem is." I sighed at my mother before explaining.

"He's perfect. I mean, I haven't known him for long, but so far, so good. He's been taking good care of me since day one and I really like him even though we barely know each other." Leo laughed cynically into the receiver.

"You didn't know that strong bar of chocolate before you started dating him either." I groaned at his mention of Charles.

"That was different." I sighed in frustration before continuing. "Out of everyone in the world, you two should understand that I'm not fit to be in a relationship. At least not a real one anyway." Their noises of disappointment struck a cord within me.

"Danielle. You're about to be 25, you do what feels right." And with that, my ears were hit with the dark emit of a dial tone.

* * *

"_What did I do over the weekend? I ate ice cream in my bathtub in an attempt to sulk and brainstorm at the same time. I still haven't made up my mind on the whole Jim thing yet and today's Monday, so I'll just have to do what I do best, which is stall." I played with my necklace before speaking again. "I should just tell him that I'm a lesbian…"_

Jim

"_I have no idea what I did wrong. Maybe I was too forward or maybe I'm not her type. I really thought I was better at this. Don't get me wrong, I like the chase, but there comes a point when one just gets sick of being lonely." _

I knocked on Michael's door to see if he knew where Danielle escaped to.

"Do you know-"

"She told me not to tell you, but she's eating a banana in the parking lot." I left before I could hear him say his famous one liner.

I hustled my way down to the parking lot, totally forgetting about my own lunch. I found her leaning against her car, snacking on a banana, just like Michael said.

"Hey." She jumped at the sound of my voice, almost dropping her half eaten banana.

"Hi." It was hesitant, but at least she was responding to me.

I looked around the parking lot and joined her in leaning on her car.

"So, why are you eating lunch out here?" She shrugged and focused on the tires of Phyllis' car.

"Enjoying the warm weather." I nodded at her short reply and sulked in the awkward silence. That was a first for us.

It was my turn to jump when she filled the quiet with a lurid sneeze.

"Bless you." I couldn't help myself from smiling because I had gotten her sick.

"Thank you." Her minimal responses weren't going to push me away.

"So is your family going to visit you for your birthday this weekend?" She looked genuinely surprised at me, but I was just glad that she looked my way, even if it was just for a split second.

"That is a good question. I have no idea if they're coming or not." Two full sentences from her already. I was on a roll.

"Well 25's a pretty important birthday. You shouldn't have to celebrate it alone." I watched her chew on another bite before continuing. "How about I take you out to a nice dinner?"

She looked like she knew I was going to say that.

"Yeah, maybe." She answered before throwing away her peel and heading back upstairs.

Danielle

All week, I treated Jim like the plague, but luckily it was Friday and the day of my party. We were all enjoying my chocolate ice cream cake except for Meredith. Michael had sung the highest I've ever heard a man sing the birthday song, but I just smiled and enjoyed it anyways.

"Open the card we got you." I wasn't aware they had gotten me anything. I hadn't been working here that long. I opened the card that Kelly practically shoved in my hands. Immediately, the card started singing 'Don't Stop Me Now' by Queen.

"That's me and my a cappella buddies from college I told you about." I smiled at Andy and skimmed the signings before taking out the gift card and closing the loud, but lovely card. It was $50 at any AMC theatre.

"Thank you everyone." They all smiled at me in return.

"We got you a gift card to the movies because we don't know you that well and everyone loves the movies." I nodded at Stanley and lifted the gift card.

"Well, I guess I'm not everyone." All around the room, upset faces were sported, except Jim who was smirking.

"Just kidding! I love the movies." Small laughs were given at my joke, but Michael was hysterical.

"Oh. My. God! You got us good! If you really didn't like movies, I was about to shout 'FREAK'!" I bit into my cake so that I wouldn't have to respond to that awkward mess.

* * *

"Happy Birthday!" People at the terminal turned and stared at the outburst.

"Thank you. Thank you. Nothing's better than a girl's family embarrassing her in front of a crowd of total strangers on her birthday." They laughed knowing that I wasn't truly angry.

On the way into town, I let them talk amongst themselves, only responding to questions thrown my way.

"So where are you guys staying?" My dad chuckled.

"Danielle, it's the Radisson of course." I nodded at him through the rear view mirror.

"I should have guessed." I silently cursed at a hummer for cutting me off. "Well, I'm just going to go to the bank and I'll pick you up on the way to my place."

I have to say, nothing's more comforting than a mother's cynical laughter.

"As if we would let you spend a dime on your birthday." Dad and Leo laughed along with her as I parked in front of the hotel.

"Dani, take your time. It's your birthday after all, so relax. We'll find our way over to your place." I tried to object to my older brother, but he already slammed the door in my face.

After cashing my check, I headed home to wait for the arrival of my family, so we could hurry up and get this dinner over with.

In the parking lot, a rush of emotions passed over me at the sight of Jim carrying a large bouquet of flowers. He was all dressed up and it made me feel even worse that I hadn't properly denied his offer.

"Jim?" Once he saw me, he brightened up with excitement and instantly, my day got a thousand times better.

"Danielle, Happy Birthday." I smiled weakly at him and quickly thought of ways to tell him that I was busy today.

"I'm sorry, have you been waiting long?" He shook his head.

"No, I'm sorry. We never specified a time." I fiddled with my thumbs and tried to formulate a way to turn him down.

"These are for you, obviously." He handed me the daisies and I couldn't help but to smile at the kind gesture. My dad was the only man to ever buy me flowers.

"Thank you Jim." I was about to finally spit it out when the sound of a car with really bad breaks coming to a halt prevented me from doing so.

It was a cab and of course, out came my family. Dad paid the driver while mom and Leo came to invade my privacy.

"Jim, you remember Leo." They shook hands as I pointed to my mother. "And this is my mom."

He shook her hand and looked very surprised.

"You can call me Linda."

"Well, I'm going to go put these in water. Jim, could you join me?" He looked confused, but followed me anyways.

I glanced at him as I unlocked my apartment door and he looked a bit disheartened.

"I am so sorry I didn't tell you sooner." He followed me in and I hurried to find a vase to put water in.

"It's ok Costas." I cringed that we were back to last names again.

I went to the sink to fill the vase with water. While the water was running, I looked around to see that Jim was no where to be found.

"Jim?" There was no response as I turned the faucet off to hear. I waited and still, there was nothing.

Confused, I carried the vase to the dining room table.

"Here." I jumped at his voice, spilling some water onto the table's surface.

He put something into the vase before reaching behind him for paper towels.

"Sorry." We were awfully close as he cleaned up the spill, but I tried not to think about it. I couldn't step away because that would just make things awkward. And truth be told, I loved being this close to him.

To take my mind away from him, I looked into the vase before putting the flowers in, but I didn't see anything at the bottom.

"What did you just put in there?" He shrugged after throwing away the paper towel.

"Aspirin. It makes the flowers last longer." I smirked and played with the baby's breath between the daisies.

"I'm starting to think you invented modern aspirin." He shook his head and gave a small laugh.

"That or maybe I was always a momma's boy." I laughed with him and felt a little bad that we felt very different about the people who raised us.

We grew silent once we noticed there were only a few inches between us.

"I think I should go. Happy Birthday Danielle." He patted me on the shoulder and in that moment, I became crestfallen because we had taken two steps backward all because I was too selfish to take a chance on what could be.

"No, you can't!" I didn't mean to shout, so I toned it down as I continued. "Even though it's my birthday, I would love for you to stay to witness my family mortify me in front of you."

He looked as if he was making a very tough decision in his head.

"Please? My dad is very technologically savvy for a man his age. He downloaded all of my very old pictures onto his iPhone and I'm sure he'd love to show you." He looked me in the eye in an inquisitive manner.

"How old are we talking here?" I grinned and clasped my hands together.

"I'm talking naked baby pictures old." He tilted his head to the side.

"Was that line supposed to work on non-pedophiles too?" I glared daggers at his handsome face.

"Alright, Alright, I'll go to dinner with you only so I can see you before you were so menacing. You know, I'm sure Andy can refer you to a great anger management class." I grabbed his elbow on the way out.

"Haha, very funny. Andy with an anger problem."

* * *

Dinner went very well tonight. My parents seemed to believe that Jim was just a friend. They all pitched in and paid for next months rent. The food was extremely delicious and I only spilled twice which was a record for me. And as I promised, my dad showed Jim my greatest Kodak moments. They seemed to be the highlight of the night for him.

At the moment, we were all walking to the parking lot. I handed Leo my keys and leftovers and he rolled his eyes at me.

"I'm gonna go walk Jim to his car, so chill." The two of us were silent on our trek, but it was comfortable and accompanied with the sound of our sneakers meeting the pavement.

I leaned up against the trunk of his car once we reached it. I looked up at his bright eyes with content in mine.

"Thanks for sticking around. I really appreciate it." He performed his humble shrug as usual.

"It was worth it to see you with the big 80's hair as a kid. Oh, and there were the few when you had braces. But my favorite was when you decided to give yourself a pixie cut in 8th grade after a dare." I shook my head at him.

"Oh yes, laugh at my misfortune." He pointed a finger at me.

"You invited me to." I slapped the digit away.

"No, I invited you to enjoy them, but not in such a cruel way." I was puzzled when he went to his backseat to pull out a bag.

"I hope this makes up for it." With fervor, I dug to the bottom and pulled out a piece of small, black, smooth fabric.

I used my other hand to pull it taut. It was a tiny skull and crossbones.

"It goes on your car antenna." He probably wanted to say more, but I squeezed him to death before he got the chance to.

Just when he began to return the sudden embrace, I pulled back enough to give him a kiss. Unlike the hug, he returned the kiss as soon as I initiated it.

Because my relatives were on the other side of the parking lot, I pulled away before we started completely making out. I thought I heard Jim make a noise of disappointment as we parted.

"Whatever happened to never doing that again?" I quickly glanced behind Jim at my car where I saw three heads quickly face the front.

"Was that a complaint? Because me and my lips can go elsewhere." I grabbed the bag and attempted to walk straight past him, but his arm slid around my waist and pulled me to him once more.

"I'm assuming that your family will be here for the entire weekend. " I nodded and tried to focus on his eyes instead of his lips.

"Then I will see you on Monday. Enjoy the rest of your 25th Danielle." And with that, he softly pecked my lips and released me.

Without a word and with shaky knees, I walked to my car and ignored the stares of my kin. The sound of the ignition must have brought their vocal cords back to life.

"So you two have been dating all along!" I could have interrogated him or at least put in an effort to embarrass you more." I rolled my eyes at my dad in the passengers seat.

"No, we were never together and we still aren't now." My mother patted my shoulder and I struggled not to shrug it off.

"Well whatever it is, I approve." Through the rearview, I could see an outraged Leo.

"Mom, don't say that! What if she's really a prostitute or a female escort and 'friend' is just code for client. I mean, you should've seen the two of them in New York the other week." I laughed at how serious he was.

"Leo, lay off the pot." Dad advised.

"Oh my god, what do I have to do to convince you that I don't do that?" My dad shook his head in disappointment.

"You can't. I saw you do it in your room when you were in high school." This had to be the thousandth time I had heard this particular argument.

"That was Michael!" I quietly laughed at their banter.

"Do you really think that I can't tell the difference between my children? You were wearing pink socks for crying out loud." I quickly looked in the mirror to see Leo very steamed.

"It was laundry week!" I basked in the familiarity of the two of them at each others throats for the entire ride home.

**Sorry for the wait. I guess I was waiting for the opportune moment. **


End file.
